Should Be Loved
by SlytherinHeart07
Summary: Jo had no clue how life got so screwed up. the world was crawling with the Walking Dead and she was stuck in with a small group of survivors. Not to mention the two brothers she hardly knew. She's sure this is going to get interesting before it all ends
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead.

AN: So I know I'm not finished with my other Walking Dead story, and it is far from finished, I was just having a bit of trouble getting motivated and getting a bit of writers block on how to continue with what I had planned for it. So as I was coming up with ideas and failing miserably, this little gem popped into my head!!! As far as I can tell, there isn't many other stories like this one and I hope you all enjoy it!!! Let me know what you all think!!!!! I promise what I have planned for this one will come along a lot sooner than expected. But if you have read any of my other stories, you know that this is kind of how I roll. Let the story drag on a bit before I start paring. Sooo read and review! I'm looking forward to see what you all have to say!!!

Jo rolled her deep blue eyes as she looked around the camp she and her brothers had stumbled upon. Each and every one of them seemed to be trying to hold on tight to any shred of normal society they had left. In a world on the verge of apocalyptic chaos, the people in the camp had been given jobs, had the children studying and even had somewhat of a leader. The man wouldn't have been Jo's choice, but as she had just recently turned eighteen, she really didn't have much of a say in the matter. She couldn't stand the overly muscular life sized ken doll. At one point, she thought he had potential of becoming a great leader, and then he opened his mouth and ruined any chance of winning her favor. It was his way or the highway and with no one to challenge him, the power seemed to go to the mans head. He acted more like a self-absorbed senior football captain who was only awarded the honor because he was the only senior on the team.

Jo sat back in her lawn chair with a long drawn out yawn, knowing the so-called leader was eying her from atop of the RV. She stretched back and her grubby once white tank top lifted just enough to give the man a bit of a skin show. She hadn't done it on purpose. Her naive mind had never thought of her affect on the older man. Not just because of the age difference. But because Jo's two older brothers never left her by herself before. Their over protectiveness had, for years, kept men away from her. So much so, that the girl never expected to attract a man at all. She hadn't even thought the man had noticed much about her, until he climbed down off the RV and was towering over her.

"Where's Daryl?" The man asked and Jo crinkled her nose and sneered at him.

"How the hell am I to know?" Jo snapped at him. "If ya wanna keep tabs on him, you baby-sit him."

The man rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his head. "Wasn't trying to make you mad. Just never see you with out him or Merle close by. When I didn't see him I kinda got worried."

"No need to worry bout a Dixon." Jo said with a smirk as she placed a pair of sunglasses over her eyes. Mostly so he wouldn't see she had closed them in attempt to block the man out. "Don't ya got some sort a important job to do Shane? Beat it. You're blocking my sun."

"You could help out a bit you know." Shane said smirking down at the girl. "Every one has a job. Even Merle and Daryl."

"Good for them." Jo said with a bored sigh. "I do my job. Just cause it aint one you picked for me don't mean I don't do it. who else you going to find, that can skin and gut what ever game Daryl brings back? I also got other uses I pray we aint going to need. Now I'm going to ask nice once more. Get out of my damn sun light."

Shane chuckled and walked away from the girl. He was still trying to figure out how this young beautiful girl could be associated with the Dixon brothers. They all said they where siblings, but the huge age difference was a bit of a red flag to the cop. The youngest couldn't be more than mid thirties. The girl just barely eighteen. There had to have been at least a twenty year age difference between the two. and possibly closer to thirty with Merle and Jo. Either man could have easily been the girl's father. That would have been a more believable story for the three of them to come up with. But all three stuck to the story that they where siblings. Never going into details. Avoiding the conversation on the rare occurrence that it was mentioned. Shane was determined to get the story out of one of them. His first attempt with budding up to the girl had obviously failed. But she was the easiest target for his questionings. The Brothers clearly didn't like him. There was no chance of breaking down the high walls of the brothers. The girl however seemed a bit more easily persuadable.

"Any luck?" Lori asked when she spotted Shane walking over from the young girl. She eyed her. Taking in the girl's slender form and long thick dark brown hair. She could see a bit of a resemblance with her and Daryl. They both had the same eyes. Those eyes that could look right through you, yet could tell a whole story with one glance.

"Naw, she doesn't seem to keen on talking to me." Shane said glancing over his shoulder at the girl. "She's not as willing to talk as I thought she would be. Maybe a bit of girl talk is in order."

"Shane I haven't girl talked with a teenager since I was one." Lori said a bit amused by her lover's attempt. "You'd have better luck sending Carl over to talk to her, but you are not getting my son involved."

Shane smirked at her. "Don't think I have too. He's finding his way over on his own."

Jo sighed when she heard the soft footsteps of the young boy. She had noticed him coming around her a lot in the short time she had met him. That is when his mother released him from her over protective claws. He seemed very interested in her and even possibly Daryl. Why, she had no clue. They weren't exactly the most interesting people in the camp. Let alone the most people friendly. But the young lad found his way over to Jo's chair and sat down next to her. He didn't talk at first. Maybe he was waiting to see if she noticed he was there. Or maybe he was being a bit creepy and thought she was sleeping.

"What do ya want squirt?" Jo asked hoping the boy would catch on to her annoyance of being bothered by him.

"How many tattoos do you have?" the boy asked and Jo smirked. She knew the one on her chest and inner forearm was easy to spot. And young minds always seemed interested in the mysteries of tattoos.

"A few." Jo replied trying not to give in to the young boy. It had been the first time he had spoken to her, and she was wondering if he had been trying to build up the courage to ask such a simple question all this time. Jo lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head and looked over at the boy. He was no older than twelve. Still young and innocent which Jo was a bit glad for. Even though she herself didn't have that rough of a child hood until she was a bit older, she knew there where kids his age that knew too much of the world already. His innocence was a bit intriguing to her. Making it harder for her to dislike the boy.

"Why the sudden interest?" Jo questioned and the boy shrugged.

"My parents don't have any." Carl replied. "Did they hurt?"

"Like hell." Jo replied seeing the boy's eyes widen at her language. "And I'm stuck with them all my life. Your parents are smart not to have them."

"Then why did you get them?" Carl's curiosity only growing at Jo's answer.

Jo sighed heavily and sent a quick glance towards the boy's mother. She saw her eying the both of them as she and Shane stood a short distance away. They almost seemed ready to attack, thinking they would soon have to save Carl from an outburst from Jo. Something all too well known from the other two Dixons.

"Cause I thought it would make me cool." Jo replied. "It didn't."

Before Carl had the chance to bombard Jo with more questions, Jo sat up in her chair. She could hear a faint siren in the distance, and it was heading their way by the slow increase in volume. Shane seemed to get unnerved by the girl's reaction, until he realized what she was hearing.

"Every one get to your tents." Shane called out. The camp erupted in panic. Every one rushing to their tents. Knocking into each other, abandoning what ever chore they had been working on. one even dumping a pot of soup that would have been their supper that night. Shane glanced over at Jo who sat back in her chair, not giving a damn that he had ordered every one to safety. Not knowing that if the siren was meant for harm, she could have saved multiple people with her strange hearing ability. Instead, she went back to sun bathing.

Carl had to be forced from the girl's side as Lori took his arm to lead him away. He defiantly pulled against her at first, until the young girl lightly pushed him away from her and gave him a stern look. The boy sighed and allowed his mother to take him to the safety of their tent.

As the siren got louder, Shane got out of the RV, realizing that it was heading straight for them. He took out his gun and looked over his shoulder at Jo. The girl has still not moved. Almost statuesque. "Would you like to get your ass up and help me out here, or keep pretending like nothing is happening right now?"

"It's a car alarm genius." Jo simply replied. "The only danger that could possibly come from it, is some idiot behind the wheel. And my guess is if they are dumb enough to drive a car with an alarm, they aren't smart enough to be of danger to us."

"You really are a pain in the ass you know that." Shane growled as he walked up to her and pulled her out of her chair roughly. He was a bit shocked by the girl's short stature. He knew she was a tad bit on the short side when he had first seen her, but standing next to her, he realized she wasn't much taller than Carl. She couldn't be any taller than 5'2. "You either help or get to your tent."

"Alright. Damn." Jo said pulling her arm out of his grasp. She rolled her eyes and pulled a small handgun out from behind her back. Shane looked at her in surprise. He had never known the girl was armed. "Happy now. I'm armed."

"Where the hell did that come from?"

"My ass crack Shane." Jo growled back at him. "Does it really fucking matter?"

Jo and Shane kept up their argument until a red sports car came to a halt only feet from them. When Shane saw Glenn hop out of the driver's seat he was fuming. Jo threw her hands up in the air and went back to her lawn chair. She didn't need to listen to the argument. She knew how it was going to go. Shane was right, every one else was wrong.

She let her mind wander; not paying any attention to what the rest of the group was doing until an unknown man was standing over her. He was tall, with dark brown hair and dressed in a sheriff's uniform. Jo shifted uncomfortably in his presence.

"You Josephine?" The man asked.

"Uh it's just Jo." The girl replied nervously. The man took his hat off and kneeled down to her level. She instinctively sat up in her chair. "Why do I have the feeling you aren't here to brighten my mood any."

The man looked over his shoulder at the small crowd of people who had stood back to watch the interaction. "I'm Rick Grimes."

"Squirt's dad, no shit." Jo said a bit amused by the look of guilt plastered across Shane and Lori's face. "I expected you to be short and fat. Man was I wrong."

Rick gave her an odd look and seemed to shift uncomfortably by the girls words. "I need to tell you something about your brother."

Jo's instant thought went to Daryl. She looked around at her fellow campers and derived a conclusion. Every one from the run had returned except for one. "Let me guess, Merle was a jerk."

Rick bowed his head. "Yes, he was. I handcuffed him to a pipe on a roof of a building and he got left behind when we tried to escape from the dead."

Jo took a minute to let the words sink in. They had just left her oldest brother on a roof to be eaten alive.

"Well I knew he was going to get himself killed with his mouth." Jo replied with a heavy sigh. "Just figured he'd go out in a blaze of glory and not left to die."

Rick was taken back by the girl's reaction. He looked back at the others and saw the same shocked reaction on each and every one of their faces. From what Rick had been told, Merle and the other two Dixons where very close. Never reaching out to the others in the group, but sticking together.

"Merle and I weren't exactly on the best of terms till all this end of the world crap went down." Jo said with a slight smirk. "But when Daryl finds out you better pray he's unarmed."

_

Jo sat back from the others that night as they all sat around the fire. Lori had offered to let her sit with her, but Jo refused. She had a feeling Carl and Rick needed some well-needed bonding time after thinking they had lost one another. She hadn't really paid much attention to the conversation, she barely noticed Shane confront Ed about adding another log to the fire. Her mind was elsewhere until she heard Dale mention her brothers.

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me." T-Dog said gazing deep into the fire. Jo stood and quietly made her way to the group. She wasn't going to miss this conversation. Not when her brothers where the main topic of conversation.

"I cuffed him. That makes it mine." Rick replied. His arm wrapped around Lori's shoulders in a lazy yet comfortable way.

"Guys, its not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy." Glenn replied looking up to see Jo standing not to far behind Dale. He wanted the conversation to end before things got complicated. Or violent. "

"I did what I did." T-Dog said still not taking his eyes off the fire. "Hell if I'm going to hide from it."

"We could lie." Amy suggested and Andrea quickly shot her down.

"Or tell the truth. Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed. Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's."

"And that's what we tell Daryl?" Dale asked in disbelief. Jo couldn't help but smirk at the fact that the group seemed a bit scared of her brother. In a way, they had a right to be. Daryl had quite the temper when she or Merle where involved. It was the protective nature of a Dixon.

"I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you?"

"I sure the hell don't." Jo said causing most of the group to jump. "Either way, who ever tells him had better hope he's unarmed like I said before. I may not have been that close to Merle. But Daryl was. No matter how you tell him, my suggestion is you leave it to me, he wont take it well."

"I stopped long enough to chain that door. The staircase is narrow." T-Dog said as he took his eyes away from the fire and looked over at Jo. "Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that. Not that chain, not that padlock. My point. Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us."

T-Dog got to his feet and walked away. Jo looked over at the new cop in shock. Her brother was alive. She could see the wheels turning as he contemplated that fact. She wasn't sure how. But she knew he was going to go after him. And she was going to go along for the ride. If any one could keep her brother from killing this cop, it was her.

_

The next morning Jo woke up to the sound of kids screaming. She jumped out of bed, not caring that she was only wearing her tank top and underwear. She grabbed her gun from under her pillow and exited her tent. She looked around for a few seconds as she got her bearings and her eyes adjusted to the sudden bright light of a mid morning sun. Shane ran past her and lifted his hands in the air. He seemed to be overly annoyed with her that morning. Maybe it was for the fact she had slept through most of the morning. But at the moment he didn't have time to scold her. He followed the sound of the screams and Jo followed close behind him. Jo saw Carl and Sophia race to their mothers as the men raced past them. All equipped with some sort of silent weapon. Jo slowed her pace as she followed behind. She was sure the men could handle what ever was a head of them.

"You ok Squirt?" Jo asked as she walked past Carl and his mother. Carl just buried his face into his mother's shirt. Jo felt anger well up inside of her. She hated to see the boy so frightened. She headed around the bushes just in time to see Dale cute the head off a walker with an axe. On the ground next to the rotting corpse was a partly gnawed on deer. Three arrows sticking out from its back hip. Jo recognized the arrows at once. She walked up to the deer and started to take the arrows out as the men had a panicked conversation about how close the walker had been to camp. Jo knew it was a matter of time before one of them walked into their small camp. No matter how hard every one tried to make it a safe area, the dead where growing in numbers. There would always be the threat of them. A rustling sound caught Jo's attention and the men at once raised their weapons.

"It's human, dumb asses." Jo said as she rolled her eyes and held tightly to her brother's arrows. Shane took a hold of her arm and roughly pulled her behind him. He raised his gun and Jo quickly pushed his arm down. "If you kill my other brother, you better be prepared to eat a bullet."

Shane glared over his shoulder at her, but soon whatever was making the sound came in to view. Sure enough, it was Daryl Dixon. Jo smirked over at Shane with a smug look in her eye.

"Son of a bitch. That's my deer!" Daryl growled at the looks of his prey. "Look at it. All gnawed on by this filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!"

Daryl kicked at the headless body. Every one took a step back from the man but Jo just shook her head and rolled her eyes at her brother's attack.

"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale attempted but that just seemed to anger Daryl even more. Jo knew it was because of him calling Daryl son. It's what their father used to call him when he was about to go off.

"What do you know about it, old man?" Daryl said as he walked around the body and headed for Dale. The older man took a few steps back and Jo quickly took a hold of her brother's arm. Daryl looked her up and down. "What the hell are you wearing? Go put some damn clothes on. What are you thinking walking around like that?"

Jo just rolled her eyes and handed the arrows to him as she headed back to camp to at least find some pants. She didn't need to stick around for Daryl's out burst. She knew he was more upset about losing his deer than he was at the members of the camp. A hunter and his prey where something you just didn't mess with. Jo knew he would calm down in a few seconds.

Jo walked to her tent and lazily went through the clothes left in the tent. Surprisingly most of them belonged to her brothers. The only clothes she had, where what she had left her house in and an extra sweater she had picked up on the road. When everything had gone down, Daryl and Merle had gone to her one bedroom apartment that she had gotten only a few days after she had turned eighteen. There wasn't much in the place. A few clothes, a mattress and a few packs of roman noodles in the cupboard. Everything else was still back at their father's house, and the three Dixons had no interest in going back there. Not even to see if their father was still alive. Considering Jo had been pretty much taking care of him since the day she had been dropped of on his door step, and no one had heard from him since she had left, they all gladly assumed that the man was already gone.

Jo heard Daryl calling out for Merle as he entered the camp. She sighed heavily, knowing that he was going to have a mental break down when he realized the group had left Merle behind. Just like she would if something ever happened to him. They had had an instant bond when they had first met. Something that Jo and Merle never really had the chance to get. They had only met a few times before the world came to a screeching halt, but Daryl had made a point to stick around more. Making sure she didn't go through what he had. Since the moment he had walked into the house and saw her for the first time, a young timid girl no older than twelve, and demanded what his father was doing with her, he had become her protector. When his father told him that she was his younger sister, the man didn't believe him. He still wasn't a hundred percent sure if he believed it still. But she was family. And if Merle had taught him any thing, it was that they protected their own.

Jo stepped out of her tent, now dressed in a pair of cut off shorts, and headed towards Daryl. He knew something was up the moment he saw the look on her face.

"He dead?"


	2. chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead.**

 **AN: So sorry for the long wait on this story. I have been working on quite a few of my stories that I have not finished yet. if it seems a bit choppy or have mistakes I apologize now. I wanted to get something up for you all. I'll go back and correct chapters later when I have a bit more time in my hands. hope you enjoy. this is been months in the making lol**

Jo didn't even have the chance to reply to her brother, before Shane decided he needed to take control. Of course, he wouldn't listen to her warnings the night before. The man needed to feel in charge. Jo decided to stand back and let him do what he thought he needed to do.

"We're not sure." Shane said. Three simple words that had Daryl's anger boiling once again.

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl demanded as he started to circle around Shane.

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick said walking up to his partner. He wasn't going to let Shane take all the lashing for something he wasn't there for.

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl growled at the man then sent a glance over towards his sister.

"The Squirt's dad." Jo said as she leaned back against the RV and crossed her arms across her chest. She knew her brother was about to blow. She decided to watch from a short distance unless he needed a bit of assistance.

"Rick Grimes." Rick introduced himself. Both Daryl and Rick ignoring Jo's introduction all together.

"Rick Grimes." Daryl mimicked the man. A bit childish in Jo's opinion, but in Daryl's anger he did not usually come up with many intelligent comebacks. His go to was mimicking and telling the other person to shut up. "You got something you want to tell me?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal." Rick said calmly. "He's still there."

"Hold on." Daryl said as he turned his back on Rick. Jo pushed herself off of the RV, knowing he was about to blow, and noticing his hunting knife. She wasn't liking the looks of how this was all going down. She had let the small group grow on her a bit, and wasn't ready to leave them if Daryl did something to get them sent away. She wasn't about to let her brother do something stupid.

"Let me process this." Daryl growled out. He glanced over at Jo, realizing that she had already known about Merle. His anger boiled even more. He knew Merle and Jo didn't get a long much, but Merle was still her brother. Her lack of emotion was a bit unnerving to him. "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there!"

Daryl then turned on Jo. "Did you know about this?"

Jo didn't reply. She stared blankly back at him. He didn't need to ask her. He already knew that she had known. Daryl threw the string of squirrels at Rick and headed for him, to only be tackled by Shane. Shane quickly got to his feet as Daryl went for his knife at his belt. He grabbed for it a few times before he realized that it wasn't there. So he decided his fists where just going to have to do. He took a step towards Rick, ready for his fist to connect to the mans face, but instead he found himself sitting on the ground with muscular arms clamped around his neck in a secure headlock.

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl demanded as he fought against Shane.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Shane replied. He heard Jo snicker from behind him. He quickly glanced up at her, knowing that they had forgotten she was there. At any point in time, she could have jumped in and shot either one of them to protect her brother. But to his surprise, she was back to leaning against the RV, a hunting knife in her hand as she lazily cleaned her nails with it.

"Choke holds illegal." Daryl said as he slowly stopped fighting against Shane

"You can file a complaint." Shane said sarcastically. "Come on man, we can keep this up all day."

Rick knelt down in front of Daryl so that he was eye level with the distraught man. He was actually very glad that Shane had been there. He was never really that good with man handling people like Shane was, Rick was more of the talker. The one to talk some one off a bridge. "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?

Daryl didn't reply so Rick leaned in closer, making sure that the man was looking at him. "Do you think we can manage that?"

Daryl wasn't the one to answer. It was his sister. She had stepped away from the RV and was now standing next to Shane. She put her hand on his shoulder and looked down at Rick. "He can manage it."

Shane let go of Daryl and backed away. Jo knelt down by Daryl and he quickly looked away from her. He felt betrayed by her. After looking after her, she didn't do the same when he felt like he may have needed it.

"Just listen to him." Jo suggested. Daryl didn't reply but nodded to say that he was listening.

"What I did was not on a whim." Rick said, still using the same calm voice he had used before. Something about the way he talked, made the Dixons listen. Something they didn't do when the person carried a badge. "Your brother does not work and play well with others."

"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key." T-Dog said from the crowd. Jo groaned, knowing that any progress Rick had surprisingly made to calm the younger Dixon man down, was lost. "I dropped it."

"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asked sarcastically.

"Well, I dropped it in a drain." T-Dog replied and Jo threw her hand up in the air in defeat. Why did she even try to talk to the people in camp? None of them seemed to listen to a word she said. She had told them all the night before to let her be the one to tell Daryl about Merle. Yet here they where, on the verge of a Daryl meltdown.

"If that's supposed to make me feel better it don't." Daryl said as he started to walk away. He grabbed Jo's arm and pulled her along with him. He wanted her away from these people. He had only been gone for a day and they had already corrupted his little sister and left his brother on a roof to die.

"Well, maybe this will." T-Dog said catching Daryl's attention once more. "Look, I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him. with a padlock."

"Its gotta count for something." Rick said hopping his calm demeanor would keep the man calm as well.

"The hell with all of ya'll!" Daryl said as he did his best not to cry in front of every one. Jo bit her lip and quickly looked away. She hated to see him on the verge of tears. She had only seen him like that a few times. And those memories she didn't feel like reliving. "Just tell me where he is so I can go get him."

"We can go get him." Jo corrected him.

"He'll show you." Lori spoke up. "Isn't that right?"

Rick looked around the members of the group before he answered. "I'm going back."

"Can I have my damn knife back?" Daryl demanded and to every one's surprise, Jo handed him the hunting knife she had been playing with a few minutes earlier. No one had even seen her take it from him. Daryl walked away from the group. Jo on the other hand walked up to Rick. "Thank you."

"It's the least I can do since I got him left behind." Rick said and Jo shook her head.

"Naw, I mean for keeping calm." Jo said with a slight smirk. "He ain't used to that. Where we came from, people don't take kindly to us. You treated him with more respect then most. If it had been Macho man over there, things woulda ended differently."

Jo nodded towards Shane who glared back at the girl. She just smirked in response and turned her attention back to Rick. "And you can forget the why don't you stay here speech. I'm going to get it from my brother already, and he's going to lose just like you will."

Jo walked away from the man, knowing he was going to try and protest any way. instead she went ahead and camped out in the back of the truck as she waited for the rest of the group to get gathered.

 **XOXOXOXOXOX**

The ride into town was completely silent. The only low grumble of the truck engine could be heard. Jo guessed it was because of Daryl's nervous twitches that had every one to scared to speak. He fiddled with his bow, his hand's shaking slightly. Jo wasn't sure if the others had noticed his shaky hands. It was only the slightest bit of a shake. Something that most people who didn't know Daryl wouldn't notice. Usually his hands where steady as a rock, only when he was in a bit of distress did his hands shake slightly.

As they got into the outskirts of town and the truck was parked, the group got out of the truck.

"Where to first?" Rick asked and Daryl turned at him at once.

"Merle. There shouldn't be a discussion about this." Daryl demanded. Jo put a hand on her brother's arm.

"We are going to discuss this." Rick said throwing a bit of authority into his voice. He stared the man in the eyes, letting him know he wasn't going to be swayed by him. "Glenn you know this area better than any of us. what do you say."

Glenn took a deep breath before he spoke. Almost as if hoping it wasn't going to be his last. "Merle is closer. So Merle first."

"Good choice." Jo said with a smirk. Glenn looked up at her, but the moment his eyes met her's, his view was blocked by the hunter. Glenn gulped under the sharp gaze Daryl was giving him. He bowed his head and got started heading towards the department store building. The others followed silently behind. Rick right behind him, followed by T-dog then Daryl and Jo.

"You think he's ok?" Jo asked glancing up at her brother.

"Yeah. Merle aint going out in cuffs." Daryl said with a slight smirk. Jo smirked back at him, only they would have caught the joke in Daryl's statement. Their father had always told Merle that he was going to die in cuffs, that he was to stupid to not get caught. Merle would always smile and tell him he was to proud to die in cuffs. And there wasn't any thing the three Dixons hated more than to prove their father right.

The group stopped in an alley way, right across the street from a department store. It looked like the front doors had been recently taken down, leaving a very clear view to inside the building.

"That's the building." Glenn told Daryl and Jo.

"Then let's go get Merle." Daryl said taking a step out into the street. Jo at once grabbed his arm and pulled him back to cover.

"We need a plan first." Jo demanded. "The last thing we need is to walk into something stupid and lose more people."

"What's your plan then?" Daryl growled as he pulled his arm away from his sister's grasp.

"I said we needed a plan dumb ass." Jo said rolling her eyes, a habit that Daryl couldn't stand. "Not that I had one. We need to be smart about this. I really don't feel like being left behind with them if you go and do something stupid."

"Hey!" Glenn protested.

"Alright that's enough." Rick said fighting the urge to roll his eyes at the others. He was starting to wonder how he got stuck playing daddy to three grown men and a teenaged girl. It seemed like all they wanted to do was bicker at one another and he was getting tired of it real fast. Rick stepped around the two Dixons and looked at his surroundings. The street was pretty well clear from Glenn's distraction the day before. only a few crawlers where left. So walking in the front door would be easy enough. It was what was left inside that had Rick worried. From his hiding spot it was hard to tell if there where any lingering Walkers inside. He remembered there being a few mannequins scattered around but wasn't sure if there was as many as he was counting. Which could mean there where walkers just standing still inside. He watched a few seconds more, hoping to see movement, but saw nothing.

"Alright here's the plan." Rick said turning back towards the others. "Daryl will go in first with his bow. It's silent so if there is any thing in there he can either take them out easily, or give us all enough time to get out if there are too many. I'll go next to cover him. Jo you stay on my tail, I think you would be the only one to stop Daryl if he tries to go into more than we can handle. T-Dog and Glenn will cover our backs incase something pops up from behind us."

"I'll cover our backs with Glenn." Jo offered, receiving a glare from her brother.

"The hell you will." Daryl growled and Jo once again rolled her eyes at her older brother.

"I'm a better shot than both them put together and you know this." Jo snapped back at him. "A Dixon leading the way and a Dixon covering our asses. I think it's a win win for all of us. If there is trouble from the front or the back we can use our whistle to worn the other."

Daryl nodded and readied his bow as Rick let out a frustrated sigh. The Dixon's seemed to have a lot of trust issues. Even though Jo had a point if she was a better shot than the other two men, she could cover their backs a lot better. So Rick nodded his approval to Daryl and the small group was off. They seemed to cross the street with out a hitch and Daryl made his way into the department store. Rick's hunch had been right about there being walkers still hanging around. But lucky for them there where only a couple. Daryl took them out with ease then turned to look around the group following him.

"Where the hell are Jo and the china man?" Daryl growled. A few seconds later Jo walked into the department store wiping a bloody pocket knife on her jeans. Glenn panting behind her as he glared over at her.

"You could have gotten me killed!" Glenn demanded and Jo shrugged her shoulders.

"You where fine. It was still a couple feet away from you." Jo said as she pocketed the knife. "And besides I got the job done with out a sound didn't I?"

Glenn threw his hands up in the air and looked over at the questioned looks of Rick and T-Dog. Daryl on the other hand looked quite amused to hear his little sister had saved the man, even if it was a close call. "A couple geeks came out from behind a car as you all passed. We split up to take out one each. I got mine, turn around and the other is right behind me. A few inches closer and it would have grabbed me. That's when this little hotshot decides to finally kill it."

"Did you use him as bait?" Rick asked a little concerned. He expected such a thing to come from the other Dixon. But he thought Jo had a little more concern for human life.

"He's exaggerating." Jo said as if it was no big deal. "I just didn't have a good angle on it. so I waited for it to turn its back. Glenn just happened to be making a bit of noise to attract it is all."

Rick let out an annoyed sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't wait for this whole thing to be over with so he could get back to his family and distance himself from the two Dixons. That is if they stayed with the group after rescuing the eldest brother. "Let's get going. Same formation as before."

Daryl winked over at his little sister and got his bow at the ready as Rick pointed out the direction of the stairwell that led to Merle. They cautiously made there way up the stairs to find it completely clear and the padlock still intact. T-Dog made his way to the front of the group and clipped the chain with the bolt cutters. Daryl quickly raced onto the roof and let out a cry. Glenn tried to stop Jo from getting past him, but one quick jab to the ribs had Glenn on his knees and Jo rushing past him.

"No!" Daryl cried out as he grabbed Jo around the middle and turned her away. "You don't wanna see it."

"Oh god he's dead isn't he?" Jo said in a bit of panic. "Let me go Daryl."

Daryl shook his head and tightened his grip around her. She didn't need to see what was hanging from the cuffs. He was sure Merle had survived the mutilation he had done to his body, but wasn't sure if he'd survive the blood lose. "I don't know if he's dead."

"Then what's your problem?" Jo asked as she crushed his toes with her boots. He loosened his grip enough for her to get free and she quickly rounded the corner and gasped. Dangling from the cuffs still attached to the pipes was the sawn off hand of Merle. Jo turned away and rushed to the nearest roof edge, letting what little breakfast she had eaten that morning come back up.

"I tried to warn you." Daryl said at he pulled her hair out of her face. "He lost a lot of blood."

"A little blood lose isn't going to kill Merle." Jo said wiping her mouth on the back of her sleeve. She stood up and looked around on the ground. "He's to stubborn for that shit."

Daryl shook his head and went back to the hand. To Jo's horror. He took it out of the cuffs, wrapped it in a do-rag he got from T-Dog and placed it in Glenn's backpack.

"What the hell you going to do with that except stink up the tent as it decays?" Jo asked placing her hands on her hips. "Have you finally lost your mind?"

"Its proof we came back." Daryl said and Jo froze. He knew what he was meaning. Merle was so hard headed, that if he went back to camp, he'd never believe they had gone back for him with out proof.

"There is a trail of blood leading to the other roof over here." Rick called out and the two Dixon's quickly rushed over.

"Where the hell does he think he's going?" Daryl said climbing over to the next roof and following the blood trial. "It's a few hours old I'd say. He couldn't be that far with that injury."

Daryl started to follow the blood trail with Jo hot on his heals. She wasn't going to let her brother out of her sight. One because any trust she might have had with the other three men had gone right out the window when she saw Merle's hand. And two she didn't trust Daryl not to pull his bow on one of them. Daryl lead them all into what looked like some sort of office.

"Merle? You in here?" Daryl called out and Jo groaned. If they had the element of surprise on any of the dead, it was gone by Daryl's loud voice. They all ascended from the stairs with out another sound. All with weapons at the ready. "You stay close. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Jo said taking a hold of the hem of his shirt like she had when she was young. He had taken her out hunting with him a few days after he had met her. He had told her to stay close but became distracted by a butterfly and stopped to watch it for a few seconds. That was just enough time for Daryl to silently walk deeper into the woods with out realizing she wasn't there. In a panic, the young Jo called out for him and headed the wrong way. Deeper into the woods. By the time Daryl found her, she had fallen into a small creek and got stuck in the mud. Since then, when he said to stay close, Jo took a hold of the hem of his shirt. Letting him know she was in fact there.

Rick watched the two Dixons from his spot behind them. Lori had explained a little back-story about them. But the camp knew very little about the three Dixons. Mostly that they came from a very remote part of the state and the oldest brother was a jerk. That Daryl followed Merle's lead, and Jo was closer to Daryl than she was Merle. Lori also brought up the age difference between the siblings. That either brother was old enough to be the girls father. That despite them all trying to get a back story from them, none would talk. Each replying that it was no ones business.

As Rick watched the two, he noticed how in sync their steps where. That the young girl was following her brother's footsteps to a tee and neither one made a single noise. Daryl had his bow at the ready and directly behind him, Jo had her hand gun raised just above his shoulder as her other hand lightly held on to her brothers shirt. Both highly aware of their surroundings and each other. If Rick didn't know any better, he'd say they had been doing this for years. They both seemed very comfortable sneaking around the offices. Rick's cop raidar was going nuts. Wondering how many places had these two broke into to be as comfortable as they seemed.

As Daryl began to exit a wood paneled office, Rick watched Jo give her brother's shirt a slight tug. Daryl lifted his bow a bit higher and took out a woman walker that had been standing a bit farther into the room. He wouldn't have believed it if he didn't see it for himself. But he wasn't even sure that Daryl had actually seen the walker. Jo had. And some how she had told her brother where to shoot, just by a tug of his shirt. Rick was a bit intrigued by them now.

Daryl led the way down the hall and into what looked like a waiting room. Lying on the floor where a couple bodies of the undead. Jo snorted and shook her head as she let go of Daryl's shirt and walked around him. Picking up the wrench Merle must have used to take them down.

"Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches." Daryl said nodding towards Jo. "One handed."

Jo handed the wrench to T-Dog who had the rest of Dale's tools while Daryl loaded his crossbow.

"Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother." Daryl said and Jo rolled her eyes. She always believed Daryl gave Merle way to much credit. To her Merle was just some asshole who had a surprisingly great amount of good luck. "Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails."

"Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is." Rick said as he moved around the two Dixons to take point.

"He's too stubborn to die like this." Jo said with a smirk over to her brother. "Asshole is probably sitting on a roof some where watching us try to find him."

"Let's keep moving." Rick said not even looking back at the others. He started to follow the blood trail, but Daryl wasn't having it. he quickly barged in front of the cop. Rick was about to protest but Jo stopped him.

"What do you think Merle will do if he sees you walking in threw a door." Jo said moving in front of Rick as well. "Less chance of him attacking if its Daryl."

They all followed Daryl back to what looked like a storage room. "Merle!"

"We're not alone here." Rick warned.

"The blood is fresher than what was on the roof." Jo growled at the sheriff. "He could be bleeding out. You said so yourself."

The Dixons walked farther into the room and quickly lowered their weapons. They knew Merle wasn't in here. The smell in the room told them all they needed to know of what had happened. They walked over to where the smell was coming from and Jo quickly looked away. Daryl nodded towards the other side of the room for her to look for any clues on where Merle may have gone.

"What is that?" Glenn asked as he walked up to Rick and saw the old fashioned iron Rick held in his hand.

"Skin." Was all Rick had to say as Jo once again lost her breakfast.

"Damn Jo." Daryl said in disgust. "When they hell did you get so sensitive."

"That skin, belongs to our brother." Jo said trying not to gag. "Forgive me for turning into a sissy. Maybe if you and Merle weren't so damn heartless ya'd have a problem with it too. By the way, he went this way."

Daryl quickly went over to where Jo was and checked out the broken window that his sister had found.

"He left the building." Glenn said in complete shock. "Why would he do that?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl said glancing over at his sister. "He's out there alone as far as he knows. Doing what he's gotta do. Surviving."

"You call that surviving?" T-Dog asked. "What are his chances out there. About ready to pass out."

"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks." Daryl snapped at him. Jo at once stood between her brother and T-Dog. Daryl turned away from T-Dog and walked up to Rick. "You couldn't kill him. Aint so worried about some dumb dead bastards."

"Come on you three!" Jo growled. "He was calm. He was playing nice. Why'd ya have to go and piss him off for!"

Daryl glared over at his younger sister. "You coming to find Merle with me, or staying with these assholes?"

"Yeah you don't even really have to ask that." Jo said as she stepped up next to her brother. "Lets go get the dumb ass before he gets eaten."

"We'll all go and find him." Rick said holding his hand out to stop Jo. "We have a better chance with numbers."

"I'd be more comfortable if we had those guns." T-Dog said and Jo rolled her eyes as she looked up at her brother. She knew he'd listen to her if it really came down to it. No matter how upset he was with the other three men, Daryl was not an idiot. He knew he could use the extra set of eyes. not just to find Merle, but to make sure that Jo stayed safe as well.

"They're right." Jo said with a shrug. "You only have one arrow, and I'm low on bullets. We could use the gun power."

Daryl glared down at his sister. "Fine. Lets go get their stupid guns."

XOXOXOXO

Jo had to agree with Glenn on his crazy gun retrieving plan. Even though it was two against three, neither Jo or Glenn where going to give in and think of something else. Daryl was on the verge of taking Glenn's head off for even getting Jo involved in his stupid plan. The last thing he wanted was for his little sister to be any where close to undead. If the group thought he was bad with the lose of his brother, they had a new thing coming if something happened to his baby sister.

"It's a perfect plan. Jo and I will go onto the street from here, Daryl will cover with his bow. Jo stays back here at this car to cover me or make a distraction if needed and I'll grab the guns. Rick and T-Dog will be in this alley here. That way if we cant make it back to Daryl we can make it to the two of you." Glenn said and Daryl clenched his teeth. He still didn't like the fact that Jo was in the mix of the plan but Glenn did come up with a good one.

"What did you do before this?" Daryl asked.

"Pizza delivery. Why?" Glenn answered and Jo smirked. She was thinking the same thing. it was surprising what this whole end of the world thing was bringing out in people. Talents that they never had the chance to show when the world was considered normal.

As Daryl, Jo and Glenn went down the alley way Daryl started to load his bow as Jo checked her gun.

"You have a lot of balls for a china man." Daryl said as Glenn started to push forward.

"I'm Korean." Glenn corrected and Jo smirked.

"That's the Dixon way of saying your alright." Jo replied as she stuck her tongue out at Daryl. She opened the metal gate as she and Glenn slid through. Daryl watched intently as the two disappeared around the corner. All he could do was wait for them to come back with the guns.

Jo followed Glenn around the cars as the dead walked around. Not a single one of them seemed to notice that they where around. Jo was impressed with Glenn's silent steps. She had only seen Daryl walk with such silence as if walking on air. Glenn looked around their surroundings then turned back towards Jo.

"You grab the bag. I'm going for the hat." Glenn said, then before Jo could question him, he rushed out from his hiding spot. Jo cursed under her breath and quickly followed behind him. She grabbed the bag and soon Glenn was back at her side leading her back towards the alley where Daryl was waiting. As they turned the corner, they saw a car pull up to the alley and heard some one yelling. Two men jumped out of the car and raced into the alley.

"Shit." Jo cursed as she raced into the alley to find Daryl on the ground, getting beat by two Mexican men. Jo at once shot her gun into the air. The men turned on Jo and Glenn. One rushed Jo and knocked her back into the wall, knocking her gun out of her hand. The other grabbed Glenn. Daryl let out a growl as he got to his bow and took aim. Shooting the one who had knocked into Jo in the butt. He let out a cry of pain. He and his friend took off with Glenn in tow. Daryl quickly got to his feet to race after them, but was stopped as the dead started to surround the metal gate. At that time, Rick and T-Dog raced down the alley from the other end. Daryl turned his attention on the young boy the others had left behind. Rick quickly got in his way and Daryl turned back to Jo, who had finally gotten to her feet and was holding her head.

"You got this?" Daryl asked and Jo nodded. Pulling her hand back to show a bit of blood. Daryl at once put his bow down and checked out his sister's injury. There had been quite a bit of blood on Jo's hand, but he also knew head injuries could bleed a bit worse than others. He took her head in his hands and started to part her hair where the blood seemed to be coming from. The cut wasn't more than a few centimeters long but the blood didn't seem to be wanting to stop any time soon.

"Ya sure?" Daryl asked concerned and Jo rolled her eyes and pushed him away.

"No Daryl." She replied sarcastically. "I'm dead. You're talking to my ghost right now."

"Not funny." Daryl growled back at her as he cut off a piece of his shirt and placed it over the injury. Jo quickly took a hold of the cloth then turned to the others.

"lets get out of here before we become chew toys."


	3. chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead.** **AN: Well didn't expect to have another chapter finished so soon. but since I do!!! hope you enjoy!**

Jo Sat back in the office room alone as Rick, Daryl and T-Dog attempted to get information out of the young boy, who had been left behind by his friends. Rick had been the one to demand she stay put in the next room and of course, Daryl had quickly agreed. The boy had already made the mistake of talking to her as they took him prisoner. Even if it was out of concern for her, Daryl had quickly put a stop to it. Rick was worried that Daryl would hurt the poor kid if Jo was in the room. So Jo lazily placed her feet up on the desk with the best of view and watched the scene unfold in the next room. She couldn't help but smirk to herself and thinking about the cop shows her father religiously watched during the day.

Rick was the obvious good cop. Doing his best to keep Daryl under control and the boy untouched, as he calmly tried to talk information out of their suspect. T-Dog just stood back out of the way like a rookie learning from the best. His arms folded across his chest and a cringe on his face every time Daryl got close to the boy. Daryl easily slipped into the bad cop roll. Doing everything in his power to get the boy to talk with out crossing the line. And even if it had gone unnoticed by the three men, Jo had to admit Daryl and Rick made a good team. Even if Rick was having a hard time keeping Daryl completely under control, he was keeping him calmer than Jo expected.

What really had Jo bursting into a fit of laughter was when Daryl took Merle's severed hand out of Glenn's bag and plopped it into the boys lap as if this hadn't been the first time. She had never seen someone move so fast in her life, but that must have done the trick to get the boy to sing like a canary, because a few minutes later the men where joining Jo back in the big office room.

"We're heading out in a few." Daryl replied then glanced back at Rick. "He wants ya to stay here."

"Yeah, not happening." Jo said with a shake of her head and she got to her feet.

"Didn't think so." Daryl replied with a smirk, then turned to look at an annoyed Rick. "Told ya."

"Yeah I can see you really tried." Rick retorted back. Jo waited for another Daryl explosion, but none came. He just shrugged the man's comment away. That's when Jo realized that Daryl respected the man more than he was willing to admit.

"So what's the plan?"

 **xoxoxoxoxoxox**

Jo wasn't surprised when Daryl wouldn't let her go with them to exchange people. But she didn't expect to drop her off in an abandoned bookstore a couple blocks away. She figured she would have been closer to them incase either ran into trouble. But Daryl assured her that he would hear her if something happened. So she had no choice but to make herself comfortable and wait for the men to return. So she grabbed a couple bags from behind the register and went shopping. For some reason as the world started to end, the book supply seemed to dwindle out. So the little book store she found herself in was one of the best things they had found that day. It was surprising how many books one person could go through in just a few days. Jo headed down towards the kids section first and grabbed a few book series for Squirt and his friend Sophia. She also found a few educational books Lori would enjoy using with the kids. She then headed to the romance section. Mostly she thought of Amy and Andrea. But she thought Carol would enjoy a few of them as well. after just a few minutes she had gotten both bags full of books and had to go back to get a few more bags. She found a few camping cookbooks she thought might come in handy. A few true crime novels she figured Rick and Shane would enjoy, and secretly Daryl. He was surprisingly very into reading and he was the one that introduced her to books. Told her that it was a good escape when things got bad.

After Jo had gotten a fair share of books for the camp, she sat down close to one of the windows and started to read one of the books she had picked out for herself. She let herself get lost in the world of Jane Austin.

After a few more chapters than she had expected to read, Jo put the book down and looked out the window into the street. It was surprisingly still quiet. The sun had moved significantly in the sky and Jo could feel herself panic. Daryl had assured her that he wouldn't be gone long, but by the sun's placement in the sky, the men had been gone for a couple of hours. She tried not to panic as she busied herself with other things. She braided her hair a few times, went back around the store to see if she could find a few more books, and even found a coloring book. After breaking the third colored pencil, she threw the coloring book aside and grabbed her handgun from behind her back. She slowly started to open the door when it swung open, almost knocking her down. She quickly got her footing and raised her gun to the intruder's face.

"Glenn!" Jo exclaimed as she put the gun back behind her back and jumped into the unexpected boy's arms. She heard some one clear their throat from behind him and she quickly let him go. "Bout time, asshole!"

Jo roughly pushed Glenn aside and hugged the man standing behind him. Rick stiffened at the girls embrace. Not to mention Daryl was glaring daggers into the back of his head as he came around the corner to see Jo wrap her arms around his waist. Jo pulled away and her smile grew. "I've found us all the mother load of books! Hope you boys have a few hands free."

"What we need books for?" Daryl asked and Jo ignored him as she handed him two bags full of books. She handed another to T-Dog and picked up the last one herself.

Rick glanced into the bag that Jo was carrying and smirked at what he saw. It was full of children books. She had gone out of her way to find his son something to read. He was starting to see both Dixon's a bit differently after what they had all been through together.

They all headed out of the store and Jo was a little surprised that the group seemed to be heading out of town instead of going back to try and find Merle. Jo glanced over at her other brother, who kept in step with the other three. Not even mentioning Merle. Jo was starting to think she had missed something. That maybe they had found Merle on their way back after finding Glenn, and he was gone. So many thoughts started to go through Jo's head. Had Merle turned already? Why was Daryl so calm in they had found him dead. She didn't get her answer until the men stopped suddenly in front of her and she about ran into the back of Rick.

"Oh my god." Glenn was the first to speak. Jo glanced around Rick and at once noticed what had caused them all to stop.

"Where the hells the van?" Daryl asked

"Who the hell would take it?" Glenn asked what the rest of the group was clearly thinking.

"Merle." Rick said and at once Jo looked up at her other brother in shock. They hadn't even attempted to go back and look for him. Daryl didn't even glance back at Jo. He knew what was going through her head, and he wasn't going to waist his time explaining at that moment. Instead, a bit of panic went through him.

"He's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp." Daryl said and Jo could feel the group panic. Each and every one of them knew what that meant. Merle was on his way to an unexpecting camp, full of innocent people and children.

"We can't let him hurt them." Jo whispered to Daryl. He looked down at her and she could see in his eyes that he was thinking the same thing. Despite them trying not too, both Daryl and Jo had become attached to a few members of the small camp. Merle had been the one making sure they where keeping their distance. Saying that the time was right, they'd take what they needed from the group and be on their own way. but it was Jo who had put a stop to that. With out saying anything more. The two Dixons took off down the road towards the camp. The other three men on their tails. They knew it was going to take them a while, being loaded down with guns and Jo's find of books. But each member refused to drop their load. They where just going to have to pray that things where able to be handled till they got there. As the sun started to fall, the group was feeling a bit desperate, knowing that it was going to be dark by the time they got to camp. Merle could sneak up easily before they even knew what hit them. They had to stop a few seconds to catch their breath the sun disappearing from the sky and a thick cloud cover was keeping the moon and starts from lighting up the night sky. Jo adjusted the book bags and started to head off again when she heard the familiar sound of gunshots.

"Oh my god." Rick said as all four took off as fast as they could towards the sound. Daryl and Jo weren't sure what they where more worried about. That the sound was coming from Merle shooting or that the shooting was meant for Merle. But as they entered the camp, The four found it in a panic. There had been a small herd of dead that had found its way to the camp. At once, they all started shooting.

"Jo on me!" Daryl demanded and Jo at once stepped up to Daryl's side as they slowly made their way forward, and shot any walkers that stood in view. Jo felt a hand grab her shoulder and heard the animalistic growl of a walker. She turned to take aim at the dead man that had took a hold of her, but the gun only made a clicking sound. She was out of bullets. She tried her hardest to pull her arm away from the walker, but he was stronger than she had suspected and towered over her. She heard Daryl yell out her name as the walkers surprisingly sparkling white teeth got closer and closer to her arm. She heard a gun shot from some where around her face was covered in thick rotten walker blood. She froze, stunned by what had just happened. A few seconds too late and the walker would have taken a chunk out of her arm. She slowly looked up to see Glenn holding up his gun and shaking, knowing how close of a call that had just been, and that he had just saved Jo's life.

"Hey, you got this?" Daryl asked holding his bow out to her. Jo just stared at it. She knew what he was meaning about it. It was his way of asking if she was all right. And offering her to hold his bow was his way of showing affection. He didn't let just any one touch his beloved bow. Jo slowly turned towards her brother and couldn't hold her tears back any longer. Deep down she knew it was Merle that had brought the dead into camp. He had brought them, not even knowing if she was there. He had almost gotten her killed. She felt some one wrap their arms around her pull her close to their chest. She didn't have to look up to know who it was. The stiff, unsure arms and musky smell was enough let the girl know. For the first time in years, Daryl was showing her affection. He was acting like a caring big brother, and he didn't care that the rest of the camp was watching.

"If we find him, I'm gonna take off his other hand." Daryl growled into her hair. "Stupid son of a bitch."

Jo laughed despite herself. Then turned to look at the others in the camp. Most where hugging their loved ones close, the others looking around at the ones the group had lost. They all knew they wouldn't be able to stay there any longer. If one group of walkers had found them, there would surly be more. Something that the group clearly couldn't handle. The only problem was they had no clue where to head to next.

 **xoxoxoxoxoxox**

The next day as the others started to pick up the camp Daryl wouldn't let Jo come out of the tent. That morning he handed her one of the books she had picked up and told her to stay put. Saying she didn't need to see what they where doing. He knew that Jo was still a little shaken up from what had happened the night before and he was worried about her. He was a bit scared that if she saw all the dead in the morning light, she'd lose it. and he couldn't handle that.

"Where's Josephine?" Lori asked a bit later in the day when she noticed the girl wasn't around to help. She knew that wasn't like Jo. Even if she mostly stayed to herself, if there was work they all needed help with, Jo would be the first one to help out.

"Why?" Daryl snapped back. Lori was a bit taken back by his reaction but she stood her ground.

"Was worried is all." Lori replied. "Carl and the other children are down by our tent. They are getting a bit restless. Was wondering if she wanted to take them down to the pond."

Daryl glanced back at his tent, the struggle evident on his face. He knew Jo couldn't stay put in the tent the whole time. But he wasn't sure if he wanted her running off the children in her charge. He wasn't sure if she could handle it. He turned back to Lori and nodded towards the tent.

"Ask her yourself." Daryl finally replied. "But don't be surprised if your turned down."

Lori walked over to the tent and called out the girls name. When the girl didn't reply, Lori hesitated for a few seconds before she unzipped the tent. Unsure of what she was going to find there. She peaked inside, to find the girl curled up on her sleeping bag with a book hugged to her chest.

"You doing ok Josiphene?" Lori asked in her concerned mother voice. Jo glanced up at the woman and nodded. Lori could tell that the girl was lying. She wasn't ok. And she was taking what happened harder than most of them where. As if she was blaming herself. "The kids are getting a bit restless just sitting over by my tent. I was wondering if you could take them to the pond. Maybe take them for a swim. Let them be kids for once."

Jo looked up at the woman for a few seconds before she nodded and put her book down. She then reached over and grabbed one of the bags she had brought with her from the city. No one was sure what was in them, but after the girl had calmed down a bit, she asked for her bags and headed for her tent. Now she was handing the bag over to Lori.

"You think Carl would like any of these?" Lori looked down into the bag in shock. The girl had brought books for the kids. And even some school books for Lori to keep teaching them. Jo did her best to hid a smile and got to her feet. "Pick out a few for him."

"Thank you." Lori said with a huge smile on her face. in the normal Dixon way, Jo just shrugged and walked out the tent. Heading to where Lori had told her the kids where. Sure enough she found them throwing rocks into the woods or picking the grass around them. Not a single one talked. Just sat there in silence, waiting for their parents to come get them.

"Man aren't you a wild bunch." Jo said with a smirk as the kids jumped. "Any one up for a swim?"

The kids just stared at her. so Jo shrugged and started to head into the woods. She glanced over her shoulder at the children. "Ya all coming or what?"

The kids looked at each other then glanced up at their parents. When they saw Lori nodding at them their faces lit up with big smiles. At once they all jumped to their feet and followed Jo into the woods. Holding onto each other and hoping Jo knew where she was going. The only one that had really talked to her had been Carl. Even then it was a short conversation. None of them where sure if they could even trust her, but if Lori did, then they did as well.

As they got to the pond Jo stopped and turned to look at the kids. "Rules. No going out farther than ya can touch. Try not to make a lotta noise. And lastly, have a bit of fun."

Jo stepped aside, expecting the kids to rush past her, but not a single one of them moved. "Ok then, guess its all mine then."

Jo took her gun out from behind her back and placed it on a tree stump next to the water bank. She took one last glance back at the children then headed into the water. When she was knee deep, she dove in and swam a little ways out. She came back up to see the children still standing on the bank. She wasn't going to force the kids into the water. She knew they had seen way to much for kids their age, and all innocence had been lost, they where being force to grow up way to quickly. So Jo hoped that if she could show them that she was having a bit of fun, they'd all come in as well. but no such luck. They just watched her swim around the pond as they sat at the bank, just far enough way to stay out of the water.

"Come on you four. The water is amazing!" Jo called out to them. They all at once shook their head and with a heavy sigh, Jo swam back to them. "Alright, what the hell is going on with ya all. I'm giving ya the chance to act like kids. Take it! enjoy the water for once. Leave the rest for me."

"What can you do?" Carl asked giving her a look that said he didn't trust her. that innocence leaving his face in just a short amount of time. Jo sighed heavily and got out of the water. She sat down next to him on the bank and just sat there for a few minutes.

"I can watch over you all like I would if you where my family." Jo finally said and Carl still looked up at her like he didn't believe a word out of her mouth. "Carl, after last night I realized something, and do you know what that is?"

Carl and the other children shook their head. "You all are my family now. Yeah I got my brother, but when I heard those gun shots last night the first thing I thought about was for all your safety."

Carl looked up at her but said nothing. He knew he didn't have too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.**

Daryl watched as Jo gave Morales and his family each a hug and hand both kids a couple of books that she had picked up. He had never seen her interact much with the family before, but something had changed in the last couple of days. Jo had attached herself more to the small group. Mostly to Lori and Carol, and of course their kids. He didn't understand the girl's new loyalty, but he soon realized that the girl wasn't going to want to leave the group any time soon. this is what Merle had been worried about the whole time. Why he wanted to keep Jo from getting attached. he couldnt go on with his plan of robbing the camp one night and heading their own way. Merle was the criminal. Daryl and Jo where just along for the ride.

Jo walked back to her spot next to her brother and did her best to put on a tough act with him. he wasnt sure how it happenes, but she was turning into him at that age Doing her best to stand up to the Dixon name. acting tougher than she actually was. if she wasnt careful, she'd end up a bitter redneck like he was. hating the world for nothing more than because she had the Dixon name her last name wasnt even Dixon. It was Pitman. Merle had demanded she take on their last name the moment she got into the truck with them as the world came crashing down. She didnt even protest. Just nodded her head ans made Merle proud when she introduced herself to the small group as Jo Dixon.

"You ready?" Daryl asked, bumping her arm. Jo jumped at the contact, but rolled her eyes eyes when she realized it was Daryl.

"Yeah, guess we gotta be." Jo replied heading for the old truck. Merle's bike still sitting in the bed of the truck. Jo paused at the sight of it and raised an eyebrow at Daryl. "Really man. Can't you just drop that hunk a junk here?"

"And let him have his prized possession after what he did?" Daryl seemed to growl back at her. "Let the asshole walk. Bikes mine now."

Jo smirked and got into the truck with Daryl. Daryl smirked when he realized she had already fallen asleep. She had always slept better in a vehicle.

 **ooooooooo**

When Jo woke up again it was to Daryl smacking her arm. Jo at once jumped in her seat and looked around now wide awake. "Bout time ya woke up. Ya slept right through everythin."

"What do you mean? What did I miss?" Jo asked looking around the truck again.

"Jim got pretty bad." Daryl said then cleared his throat. "He uh, he asked us to leave him on the side of the road. I wanted ta wake ya, but Jim wouldn't have it. Said to let you sleep. He didn't want ya ta see him like that."

"Ya should have woken me any way." Jo said glaring at him. "Where the hell are we now?"

"CDC." Daryl said with a sigh. "And it don't look promising."

Jo rubbed her eyes and let herself look around their surroundings. She automatically knew what Daryl was talking about. There where dead bodies of soldiers scattered around the ground. Even through the safety of the truck, she could smell the decomposing bodies. She saw the rest of the group getting out of their vehicles and she quickly followed suit, the smell hitting her full force. She quickly covered her nose with her shirt and followed Rick and the others as they walked around the bodies to the CDC. Rick and Shane tried the metal shutters but they where locked.

"There's nobody here." T-Dog said sounding a bit angry with Rick. Jo couldn't blame him. Rick had brought them here.

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick said in his defense.

"Walkers!" Daryl called out pushing Jo behind him, pushing her back towards Carol and Sophia. Carol took a hold of the girls arm as she held a frightened Sophia next to her.

"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl growled. His anger growing with every walker that came into veiw. Rick had put his sister in danger for the second time since he had shown up. He was scared he was going to lose his sister.

"He made a call." Dale tried to come to Rick's defense, but Daryl wasn't going to listen.

"It was the wrong call!" Daryl demanded. Shane had had enough of him. He came out from the back of the room and got into Daryl's face.

"Just shut up. You hear me? Shut up. Shut up!" He demanded then turned to Rick. Some how Jo had found her way to Rick's side as she carefully eyed the building. Rick couldn't have been wrong. Jo needed him to have been right. They all needed him to be right. The group was in a panic as they all started to fight amongst themselves. Jo stayed put as Rick started to back away. And that's when they saw it.

"The camera moved. It moved!" Rick demanded.

"You imagined it!" Dale called back at him.

Jo shook her head and stepped closer to Rick. "No, I saw it too."

Daryl growled as he walked back up to her and grabbed her arm. He yanked hard on her arm and she let out a small yip in pain. He knew he didn't have to use that much force with her. She was no bigger than Carl or Sophia, but in his panic, he seemed to have forgotten his strength. Daryl released her at once and Glenn quickly brought her into his arms. Jo could hear Rick yelling at the camera as she looked down at her arm. She could already see the imprint of Daryl's fingers on her small wrist. Jo looked up at her brother's back and held back tears. He had never been so rough with her, but she knew it was in his own panic. She left Glenn's arms and walked up to her brother. She took a hold to the hem of his shirt and gave it a slight tug. Letting him know that she wasn't mad at him, and that she was next to him no matter what.

As the dead got closer, the metal shutter raised, letting the light of the building flood on to the sidewalk. its brightness, temporarily blinding the group. No one could believe what they where seeing. Rick had been right the while time. Rick called out to every one to follow, and no one had to be told twice as they all raced inside.

Jo was a bit surprised that inside the building wasn't as bright as she had first imagined. When the door had gone up, she had expected the inside building to be lit up like Christmas. Instead it was just as dark and shadowy as it had been out side. Daryl came up beside her and lightly nudged her arm. She immediately raised her gun. She hadn't even realized she had put it down. The small group took in their surroundings, none of them believing what had just happened.

"Hello?" Rick called out and was answered with the sound of a shotgun loading. Rick and the others with weapons quickly raised theirs and pointed it at the man hiding back in the shadows.

"Any one infected?" The man called out to them. Rick lowered his gun a bit, hoping to keep the situation as calm as he could.

"One of our group was." Rick said sadly. "He didn't make it."

"Why are you here? What do you want?" The man asked dropping the gun to his side. Rick did as well as a few of the others. The two Dixons on the other hand left theirs raised.

"A chance." Rick answered with simple honesty.

"That's asking an awful lot these days." The man replied. Jo took in his appearance. Blonde hair with a receeding hairline, tall, maybe a bit taller than Rick. Dressed in what looked like pajamas. He didn't look like a man that could be of any help to them. He could have just been some random from the street by the way he looked.

For a few moments Jo didn't believe the man was going to let them stay. He slowly took in each member from the group before he turned his attention back to Rick. "You all submit to a blood test. That is the price od admission."

"We can do that." Rick replied and Jo could feel her body tensing. She hated needles. She had watched her mother get poked and prodded for two years. she didnt want to see another needle for as long as she lived.

"You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closses, it stays closed." The man said heading for the door. Every one jumped into action. A few of the men went back to the cars as Dale, T-Dog and Jo watched the door. They surprisingly got their stuff with out a hitch. Once they where all inside, Jo let out a heavy sigh as she watched the doors become locked again. That was another things she hated, being locked in to a place with little freedom. Both Dixons where like caged animals if they weren't able to run free from time to time. They needed that escape into the world. Even if the world was trying to eat them alive.

 **AN: This has been sitting on my computer since I finished the last chapter. I wanted to make it longer. I went to finish it today and I cant find my DVD!!!! So I decided to leave it short and give you all an update anyway. I hope you enjoy this and I am going to do my best to write by memory of the next few events. Hopefully I can find my DVD. Since I dont have internet at home I am very limited. I'll do my best to give you another update soon!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

Rick introduced himself to the man who had just saved his groups lives. If he hadn't have opened the doors when he had, the group may have lost more members.

"Doctor Edwin Jenner." The man replied. "Grab your things and follow me please."

Every one froze and watched Rick. Waiting for the man to make the first move.

Jo rolled her eyes and picked up her things. "Lets not all move at once."

Daryl grabbed her shoulder and brought her back to him. "Don't be rude."

Jo smacked his hand away and followed Jenner none the less. The rest following not far behind her. Rick quickly walked in front of the girl. It wasn't hard for the man to get around her. She wasn't much taller than his son, and her little legs where no match for his long ones. He was in head of her in only a few strides. He glanced over his shoulder at her and some how she understood what he meant. she let the others go around her and made it to her brother's side.

Jenner lead them to an elevator and they all packed themselves into it. As the door closed and the elevator began to move, Daryl couldnt deal with the silence any longer.

"Do Doctors always go around packin heat around here?" He asked and Jo rolled her eyes.

"Don't be rude." Jo said mimicking him from earlier. He didn't reply to her. Just kept eying Jenner.

"There where plenty lying around. so I familiarized my self with one." He looked around the group before he added. "You looked harmless enough."

Jo jabbed Daryl hard in the side and his a smirk. He knew what she was thinking. If Merle was with them, Jenner might have had a thought differently. The elevator opened and Jenner started to lead them down a long hallway.

"Are we under ground?" Carol asked as she noticed the lack of windows.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked over his shoulder.

"A little."

"Try not to think about it." Jenner replied. He led them to a large control room. "Vi, turn on the lights in the big room. Welcome to zone five."

Jo looked around the room in complete shock. The room looked like something she would have seen in a space movie. She slowly took everything in everything. she didn't even pay attention to the conversation around her till she heard Jenner say something she had been dreading.

"I'm the only one here."

 **oooooooo**

Jo wiggled a bit nervously when Jenner motioned for her to come forward. She eyed the needle in his hand and shook her head. The girl visibly shuttered and wrapped her arms around herself. The group had never seen her look so uncomfortable since they had known her. But clearly she was having a problem with the situation at hand.

"Waiting on you Sun shine." Shane snapped at her. Jo quickly turned on him.

"Not a fan of needles ok. Back off for once. damn." Jo growled as she took a seat in front of Jenner.

"Drug abuse can do that to a person." Shane said sending an accusing look towards Daryl.

Jo felt like slapping the life sized G.I. Joe. instead she stuck to glaring daggers at him. "Try my mom died of cancer asshole. I watched her get stuck by needles for two years before she died. thanks for pushing though. I appreciate it."

The whole group fell silent. Even Daryl. He had known her mother had died. But that was all she would ever tell him. He started to move towards Shane but Andrea quickly changed the subject.

"What are you checking our blood for?"

"For infection. DNA mutations." Jenner replied as he placed a cotton ball on the needle prick he had just made on Jo's arm. She hadn't even realized he had poked her already.

"DNA? Can these machines do DNA tests?" Andrea asked and all eyes instantly glared over at her. "What? I can't be the only one questioning this. I would rather piss them off and know the truth. I cant be the only one uncomfortable about this."

"She's my sister. Got nothin ta prove ta any of ya." Daryl growled. He was surprised to see Jo shaking her head at him.

"It's not like we never questioned it." Jo replied. "Child services didn't even do a test. Just dropped me off on Will's door step cause his name was on the birth certificate. It would be nice to know. no matter what, ya still my big bro."

Daryl gave her an odd look but nodded any way. If she wanted to know, then he was ok with it.

"It may take me a few hours." Jenner said and Daryl shrugged. He didn't see them going any where any time soon.

 **oooooo** Jo stepped into the shower and moaned. the feeling of the warm water was heaven. She can't remember the last time she had a warm shower. Even before the world came crashing down, she rarely got the pleasures of warm water. The moment she had been left on Will Dixon's door step, her life had been turned up side down. The pleasures she had taken advantage of before had been ripped from her. Warm water, a clean house, home cooked meals, a bed of her own. Will Dixon used her as a maid rather than a daughter. When she was finally old enough to make it out on her own, the world decided to throw in an apocalypse. She relished in the moment and let the water wash away the grim. She wasnt surprised to see the water falling from her body had nearly turned to mud.

"You going to let me have some hot water, or are you going to use it all up for yourself?" Glenn called from outside the bathroom door.

"Don't tempt me." Jo growled back at him. She sighed heavily and started to wash. There wasn't any point in taking all the hot water. After Glenn, Daryl still needed to shower as well. He deserved a nice shower just as much, if not more, than she did. She finished her shower and quickly got dressed in her same shorts and shirt she had worn there. Some how her clothes had been lost and all she had left was the clothes on her back.

"You wore that here." Glenn said a bit confused when she walked out of the bathroom.

"My clothes got lost." Jo said with a shrug. "This is all i got."

Glenn bit his bottom lip and glanced over at Daryl who was laying on one of the beds. With a heavy sigh he went back to his back pack and took out a plain red shirt. "Here."

Daryl glared the younger man down, but said nothing. He knew Jo needed something else to wear. He just didnt have anything to spare. And what he did have would have swam on his sister. Glenn's shirt wasn't much better. Even with him being smaller than Daryl, his shirt still looked like a mini dress on Jo's tiny form.

"Thank you, Glenn." Jo said with a smile and a kiss on his cheek. Glenn blushed and quickly went into the bathroom before Daryl had a chance to take his head off. the moment Daryl heard the shower turn on he turned on his sister.

"What ya doin?" Daryl asked with a groan. "Do ya want me ta beat him up or somethin?"

Jo rolled her eyes at her over protective brother. "You know he ain't my type. Chill out."

After the three room mates got their showers done with, they headed into the dining room Jenner had told them about. They were a bit surprised to see Jenner had cooked them a feast and brought out a few bottles of wine. The group was in heaven. They never expected to be treated so well.

As every one started to fill their plates, Jenner brought Jo the results of the DNA test. The room became silent as the girl read the results with shaking hands. With out a word, she passed the paper to Daryl. He read it then handed the paper to Andrea.

"Why don't ya do the honors since ya had such a problem with it." Daryl said when she gave him an odd look.

Andrea looked down at the paper and cleared her throat. "Half siblings... I honestly thought it would come out differently. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"We're used to it." Jo said as she took a bite of food. "I took after my momma. Except for my eyes and hair. People back home used ta think Daryl was my dad."

"I just can't believe it with the age difference." Andrea said shaking her head.

"Well believe it." Daryl spat at her. "Cause I ain't getten poked again."

Jo looked around the room and sighed. She and Daryl had distanced themselves from the group when Merle was around. But he wasn't there any more. There was no reason for them to keep things from the group any longer. "I was dropped on Will Dixon's door step by child services when I was twelve. My momma had just died of cancer. I had no other relatives ta take me. So they got my birth certificate. Saw Will's name and dropped me on his doorstep the moment he confirmed his name. Daryl and came ta visit a couple weeks later.

"I didn't believe the brat was my sister." Daryl said taking a swig of whatever alcohol he had found. "Was about to beat the shit outa my ol man. He was too drunk ta tell me who she was. She finally told me he was her dad. kept a close eye on her since."

"Don't you two have the same last name? Why wouldn't you have figured it out by that?" Sophia asked and Jo squirmed nervously.

"Her last name ain't Dixon." Daryl replied with a shrug. "It's Pitman. Merle told her ta go by Dixon the moment the world went ta shit. Figured it woulda brought up more questions."

He then handed Glenn the bottle he had in his hands. "Drink up. I wanna see how red yer face gets."

Jo smiled at the group around her as the kept up a playful banter amongst themselves. She picked up the test results and excused herself. She was exhausted and for the first time since she was twelve, She was going to be able to sleep in a bed.

 **AN: I know i left out quite a bit, but it is what i could do with out my DVD. Hope you enjoy this and let me know what you think!!!**


	6. Chapter 6

Jo walked up to Rick as he sat on the roof, talking on a walkie talkie. She sat back and allowed him to keep talking. Who ever he was talking to never replied. He stood there a bit longer as he looked out over the city.

"Who ya talking to?" Jo asked as she walked up to him. He glanced her way, but made no other gesture that he acknowledged her presence.

"A man I met after I woke up in the hospital." Rick said then turned to her. "He saved my life. I told him I was heading this way, and gave him a walkie so he could follow. I update every day at the same time."

"Has he ever replied?" Jo asked curiously. Rick shook his head. Jo patted his shoulder. Or his back at least. He was a bit tall for her to reach his shoulder. "I'm sure he'll find us one day. You're to damn stubborn for him not too."

"How do you know I'm stubborn?" Rick asked trying to keep a stern look on his face. the side of his mouth threatening to curl up into a slight smirk.

"You put up with two Dixons and you kinda like us." Jo replied with a smirk. "Only stubborn people put up with us long enough for that to happen."

Rick chuckled and playfully bumped her with his elbow. "It's not stubbornness. It's not judging. You two are a lot different than your brother."

"Not really." Jo said with a giggle. "We just do a better job at reeling in our asshole side. So were to next?"

Rick ran a hand down his face. "I don't know. I shouldn't be making that call."

"Sure you should." Jo said as she looked out over the city. "Before you came along, the group was in denial. Believing they were safe. There was no leader. Just a testosterone pumped life sized G.I. Joe with a leader complex. And a horrible my way or the highway attitude. I know he's your best friend and all, but the man is a complete asshole. People believe in you. Sure the CDC was your idea. but we got some answers. And you didn't demand we all go with your plan. We all followed you willingly. You also treated my brother with more respect then he has ever received in his life. You don't judge. You don't demand. You lead and we willingly trust your judgement. So I'll ask again. Where we headin Sheriff?"

Rick gave the girl a quizzical look. He was a bit taken back by the girl. But he'd give her one thing. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind or speak the truth. "How did you get so smart for being so small?"

Jo shrugged. "Small body, big brain. Lead the way. I'm sure Daryl is going crazy. I kinda snuck off. he don't like me being alone with the others."

"But he trusts me?" Rick asked raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"No, just has less trust in the others."

The two walked back down to the rest of the group. they all looked up at the two in a bit of shock. They hadn't even noticed Jo had disappeared. Jo nudged his arm then went to stand by Daryl. he gave her a confused look. Jo just shook her head as all eyes seemed to turn to Rick. All except one. Those eyes bore into the back of her head. She could feel them but refused to give them the satisfaction of making her feel uncomfortable.

"We have choice to make now." Rick said looking at every member of the group. "I think we should try for Fort Bennings. Go around Atlanta. Possibly hit a few of the smaller towns."

"Less walkers." Daryl nodded in agreement. "Most people headed for the city. Better chance the mom and pop shops will be untouched."

"I know I was pushing Fort Bennings before," Shane said shaking his head. "But I can't help but think It's a bad idea now. We don't want to walk in to something like we did at the CDC. I say we find some where to hunker down. Make a safe zone for ourselves."

Jo rolled her eyes at Shane. She had a feeling Shane was going to argue with Rick on every decision he makes. And by the slight annoyed twitch of Rick's right eye, he wasn't used to his best friend disagreeing with him.

"We can always keep our options open." Rick replied calmly. "We should also eliminate a few vehicles. Keep our convoy to a minimum."

"Carol and Sophia can ride with us still." Lori said patting the woman on the shoulder.

"I'll ride in the RV." Glenn said while T-Dog, and Andrea also agreed to ride with Dale.

"I'll dump the truck, but I'm keeping the bike." Daryl said leaning up against the wall. "I can easily get through places. Can be a good look out. Some one has to take Jo. She don't do good on a bike."

"I'll take Sunshine." Shane said with a shrug. The thought made Jo a bit nervous. "Hear she sleeps most of the time anyway."

"I'm not comfortable sending her with ya." Daryl growled and the men started to argue amongst themselves.

"Standing right here!" Jo said a bit annoyed. But Shane and Daryl kept talking over her.

"We can take her." Rick said as Lori glared over at him. She wasn't liking how close Rick had seemed to become with the younger Dixon. The argument between Daryl and Shane died down. Both men also a bit surprised by his interruption. "If that is ok with you Jo. That will also eliminate another vehicle if Shane will ride in the RV."

"I like Rick's plan." Jo said with a shrug. Every one looked at Shane. He seemed to stand a bit taller and clinched his jaw tight.

"I guess we'll go with Rick's plan." Shane seemed to get out with out sounding aggravated. Jo wondered how many time he had done it, to perfect it so well. Daryl nudged her arm and nodded his head slightly. Letting her know that he had witnessed the same thing.

The group seemed to jump into action and started to get their things packed. Rick raised an eyebrow towards Jo. Then smirked. The girl had been right. The group was very much more willing to follow him. within the hour they were all packed up and on the road. Within ten minutes into the drive, Jo was fast asleep.

Jo didn't wake up till the car came to a stop. She sat up in the back of the car and looked around. "Where the hell are we?"

"Jesus, Josephine, you scared me." Lori said grabbing her chest.

"We are going to the Grand Canyon." Sophia said with a huge smile. Jo raised an eyebrow at the young girl.

"Well that sound fun." Jo replied putting a forced smile on her face.

"You can come too!" Carl said, smiling back at her as well.

"Thanks Squirt." Jo said as she messed up his hair. She then turned her eyes on the back of Rick's head. "So what's going on?"

"Road block." Rick replied. "Daryl is trying to find us a way through."

Rick slowly started to creep ahead, but didn't get far before the RV came to a stop ahead of them. Jo crained her head around trying to see what was going on, when every one started to get out of the cars.

Jo got out of the car by crawling over the back seat after Carl, Sophia and Carol had gotten out of the car. The group walked around the RV, where Dale was opening the hood to look at the engine.

"I've said it a thousand times, dead in the water" Dale said in frustration.

"Problem Dale?" Shane asked Dale turned to him, still a bit frustrated. "Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of…ok that was stupid."

Jo giggled and shook her head as she walked over to her brother. He was already going threw the first car.

"If you cant find a radiator hose here." Shane said gesturing around to all the deserted cars.

Daryl smacked his sister's hand away as she reached in to look at something he had found. "There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find."

Jo went to grab something else when Daryl smacked her hand away again. The two siblings had a slight stand off till Jo turned when she heard Lori speak. This is a graveyard… I don't know how I feel about this."

"This is survival, Lori." Jo said with a shrug. "Don't think of it like that. Think that these things could save your family in the long run."

Rick patted the girl on the shoulder, to let her know it was a lost cause. There was no point in telling Lori other wise. She would still look through the cars. But until the true survival instincts kicked in, the woman would feel guilty about it. "Alright, here we go."

Jo reached into the car when Daryl was distracted, and grabbed the bag he had been trying to keep from her. He quickly grabbed the back of her shirt as she tried to run from him. She was sure the scene looked quite comical to the others. Daryl held her out in front of him as she attempted to pull away from him and was getting nowhere. Jo huffed and finally threw the bag over her shoulder at Daryl.

"Fine asshole." The moment the words where out of her mouth Daryl let go of her shirt. She stumbled forwards a bit, but caught her footing. She looked at him over her shoulder and held up her middle finger. He returned the gesture ad he went back to searching the car, not even looking over at her. He just knew what she was doing. Jo huffed and walked away to search another car. She wasn't even sure what was in the bag, and she was sure he didn't either. Daryl was just staking claims on the car and Jo wanted to ruffle his feathers a bit.

"Stay within a whistle." Daryl called over to her as she walked farther down the line of cars. She returned his comment with the same gesture she had given him earlier and kept walking. Making sure she was still close enough to hear his whistle none the less. She was going threw a mini van, when she felt some one put their hand over her mouth. She was about to scream when she heard some one whisper in her ear.

"Get under the car." Jo didn't even hesitate at Rick's request. She quickly dropped to the ground and slid under the van. Even for her, it was a tight fit. If she was found, she wouldn't be able to escape very easily. She watched Rick slide under the truck next to the van. She took a deep breath and let out a soft bird like whistle. Rick looked at her as if she was crazy. There where birds chirping out in the woods next to the road, just not ones like the whistle she had done. He glared over at her and pressed his finger to his lips. From farther down the line he heard the same whistle. He then realized what the girl was doing. She was warning Daryl about the danger. The Dixon siblings surprised him almost daily. The way they could have a conversation with out saying a word was the most surprising.

Rick looked over at his wife and his son. Both under different cars and he could see the panic in his eyes. His hands shook as he gestured them to stay put, he tried to keep the fear from his eyes, but he knew they could see right through him. He glanced over at the girl next to him, to see she had her eyes closed and she seemed to be counting. Her mouth moving with every silent number she counted. Rick could feel the panic bubbling up inside him as he realized how many walkers there must have been as they stumbled past. Yet the girl seemed to be completely calm. Almost blocking out her fear completely. As the last walker walked past, he looked over to see the girl still laying there with her eyes closed, her mouth no longer moving. Her eyes shot open and she looked at Rick in panic as she shook her head and looked over at him. She mouthed something to him, but he couldn't quite read what she was trying to say to him. she huffed in frustration till he heard Sophia scream.

With out even thinking Rick grabbed his gun and slid out from under the truck, heading for the woods where Sophia had run. As he run after the girl, he mentally kicked himself. He then realized what Jo was trying to tell him. Some how she had known there where still two walkers left and knew Sophia was trying to climb out from under her car.

Jo could hear every one panicing, but she was still stuck under the van. She attempted to wiggle her way out but either way she went, she some how got stuck. She let a string of silent curses before she whistled a bit louder than she had the first time. He didn't whistle back this time, but she heard him walk up to the van.

"I should just leave ya there." He taunted. Jo rolled her eyes and stuck her hand out so he could grab it. with a chuckle he pulled her out from under the van. Jo stood up and started to wipe her clothes off.

"I'm never goin to live this one down am I?" Jo asked as she refused to look up at her brother. Her face red with embarrassment.

"Nope." He said with a chuckle. His laughter died out and she glanced up at him. "Did you get a count?"

"64." Jo said concerned. "Give or take. It was hard to count with them coming at us in such a large group and shuffling steps. There steps blended together a couple times. Have ya ever seen them group up like that before?"

"Only in the cities." Daryl replied with a sigh. "Thanks for the heads up. I didn't even notice them till they was about on top of me. Lets go check with the others."

They walked up to the group as they all stood around watching the woods for any sign of Rick or Sophia.

"What happened to you Sunshine?" Shane asked looking at her rust covered clothes.

"Girl got stuck under a van." Daryl replied as if it was a completely normal thing to happen.

The others stared at Jo for a second before Shane started to laugh. Most of the group turned to him like he had gone mad.

Lori held a sobbing Carol as she glared daggers at Shane. "You really think It's the best time to be laughing?"

"Oh come on." Shane said lifting his hands in the air then gesturing towards Jo. "What did you crawl under? A mini cooper?"

Carol let out a small laugh then shook her head. She felt mortified for laughing while her daughter was in the woods.

"Don't worry Carol." Jo said with what she hoped was a comforting smile. "Rick will bring your little girl back."

 **Ooooooooooo**

When Rick returned, Sophia wasn't with him. He explained what had happened. Daryl didn't hesitate, he grabbed his crossbow from it's resting spot on top of the closest car, and nodded towards Jo. She nodded in reply and reloaded her gun. Rick said nothing as he looked over at the two Dixon's and nodded as well. Some how he understood what they where meaning in their silent conversation. They where going out to look for her.

"Let's get going before the trail gets to cold." Rick said as he started to head back towards the woods.

"I'll come with." Shane said grabbing his gun and nudging Glenn. The young man groaned. "Me too."

Rick nodded and lead the way back to the creek, that he had left Sophia. Daryl watched the ground for the tracks Sophia and Rick had left. Jo wasn't as good with tracking as Daryl. He had thought her everything, but she didn't pick up on it that easily. She could easily make out Rick's heavy footsteps. It took her a while to realize he had picked the girl up, and that was why she wasn't seeing the other set of foot prints. Rick stopped at the creek and jumped down into the water. Daryl and Jo followed behind, while Shane and Glenn stood back on the bank. Daryl and Jo checked the spot Rick said he had left Sophia. It was a cluster of roots, years of water flow had washed away the bank, leaving a small cubby hole. It was just big enough to hide a small child.

"Are you sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked a bit skeptical. He wasn't seeing any sign of someone being tucked away there.

"I left her right here." Rick said sternly. "I drew the walkers way off in that direction up the creek."

"Without a paddle." Daryl replied and received a smack on the arm from his sister. He just ignored her. "seeing where we've landed."

"She was gone by the time I got back here." Rick said shaking his head. He would never forgive himself if Sophia wasn't found. But he had to eliminate the threat. If he hadn't have they both could have been bit. "I figured she just took off and headed back to the group. I told her go that way and keep the sun on her left shoulder."

Jo walked over to the bank in the direction Rick said he pointed out to Sophia. There was a slight slip in the mud that looked as if some one had climbed out, but she couldn't be sure so she pointed it out to Daryl. He ruffled up her hair, then gently pushed her aside to get a better look.

"Hey, Short Round, why don't you step off to one side?" Daryl growled up at Glenn, who was standing right above him on the bank. "You're mucking up the trail."

"Assuming she knows her left from her right." Shane started and was quickly interrupted by Jo.

"I hope she'd know considering they teach that in preschool and she's twelve." Jo growled in annoyance. This time she received a smack in the arm from her brother.

"Kid's tired and scared, man." Shane said as he ignored Jo altogether. "She had her a close call with two walkers. Got to wonder how much of what you said stuck."

"Hi found clear prints right here." Daryl said looking pretty proud of his sister. Jo looked up at Shane with a smug look on her face. "She did like you said, headed back to the highway."

Glenn helped Daryl out of the creek. He turned to help Jo, but Rick had grabbed her waist, picked her up and placed her on the bank with no problem. Daryl then helped Rick out. Shane clinched his jaw at the sight. He didn't like his best friend putting so much trust in the Dixon siblings. He hadn't trusted them from the moment he saw the Dixons show up at camp. They had never given him a reason to trust them. Even if they both seemed a bit different with Merle gone. He still wouldn't trust them.

Daryl followed Sophia's tracks till they where about fifty yards from the highway and knelt down to get a better look at the ground. He motioned for Jo to look a few feet ahead for any signs of foot prints. She looked carefully and shook her head. There was no signs of foot prints.

"She was doing just fine till right here." Daryl pointed out. "All she had to do was keep going. She veered off that way."

"Why would she do that?"

"Maybe she saw something that spooked her. Made her run off?" Shane suggested.

"I don't see other footprints." Daryl replied "and Jo didn't find anything up there."

"So what do we do?" Shane asked.

"better if you, Glenn, and Jo get back to the highway. People are gonna start panicking." Rick said ignoring the glares from both Dixons. "Let them know we're on her trail doing everything we can."

Jo looked over at her brother. She hoped he would protest about sending her back as well. Two trackers could have been better than one, even if Jo wasn't the best at it. Daryl never protested and Jo found herself heading back to the highway. Glenn had some how gotten a few feet ahead of her and Shane. She had wished he would slow down. For some reason Shane made her a bit nervous any more.

"So you Rick's number one fan now?" Shane asked with a growl. "You seem to jump at his every beck and call. Didn't think you all where the following orders kind of people."

"You never gave us a reason to be." Was all Jo said as she jogged up to Glenn.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.** **AN: So this is it! The chapter that Jo finally meets Beth! I hope you enjoy my little twist of a story. I also haven't decided how far I want to take their relationship. When I started this, I thought I knew where I waa going with this. But now that I am more chapters in, I'm not so sure. Let me know what you all think!**

Jo was still trying to wrap her mind around the events that had happened earlier that day as she sat on the front steps of the old farmhouse, her hands and shirt stained with blood. It had started as a normal day. They had all gone out to look for Sophia. Jo had been a bit surprised when Rick allowed Carl to join them. The boy stuck close to her most of the time. Watching her, trying to figure out what she was looking at. He never asked her any questions. Just watched her closely. Even trying to match her quiet steps. Jo had guarded him from the tent they had found, and the dead body inside. He didn't need to see it. The smell was bad enough.

When they had reached the church, Jo found her brother standing off to the side. They had talked about leaving the group after what had happened at the CDC. But here they both where, looking for the small girl. Jo knew why she was doing it. She had remembered what it was like to be lost at that age. And deep down she had started to care for the members of the group. Something she refused to admit to her brother. But that didn't explain why Daryl was so dead set on finding the girl. She meant nothing to him. She was even more surprised when Daryl demanded that Jo stick with Rick, Shane and Carl. Telling Rick that he'd feel better if she was with them. Explained that she was a decent tracker, and that they would have less of a chance getting turned around if she went with. Jo wasn't happy with being left alone with them. But Carl was more than excited for the both of them. As the group split up, Carl was more willing to chat with her. Asking what she was doing and doing his best to copy every move Jo made.

That's when the deer crossed their path. Jo had crouched down and motioned the boy forwards. Motioning him to be as quiet as he could as he got closer to the deer. The men behind them watching with a mixture of awe and pride. That's when the gunshot sounded. That's when the young boy fell back into Jo's lap, bleeding from a bullet wound at his left side. The side that had only been inches from her head.

And that's how she had found herself at the Greene farm, sitting on the front steps while Carl's fate was in the hands of the old farmer that lived there. Shane had left not long before with the hunter that had made the dreadful shot. The farmer's daughter Maggie had left on horseback to find Lori and the rest of the group. Jo wanted to go, but Shane had forbid it before he left. Saying Rick needed one of them to stay behind. Daryl was going to be furious with her. She had failed to do her job. She failed to get the others back to the highway.

With a heavy sigh, Jo got to her feet and slowly made her way inside. She had an idea where Carl was. She had been listening to the footsteps the others had made as they walked around the house. At that moment most of the Greene family where sitting in the room to her right. She was guessing it was the living room. Rick had gone to the right. She hadn't heard his heavy footsteps in a while and was wondering if the man hadn't fallen asleep, or refused to leave his sons side. She didn't even look to her right when she walked in. She turned to the left and peaked into the room with the closed door. Her guess had been right. There was Carl, lying in a queen-sized bed. If she didn't know any better, she would think the boy was dead with how pale he had become. Rick was sitting in the chair next to the bed, fast a sleep and looking about as pale as his son. The gauze and tape in the crease of his left arm made her shutter a bit. She had seen that many times. Her mother had come home with gauze and tape many times before she got too sick to hide it from her any more. Jo pushed the thought out of her head as she got up on the bed and sat next to Carl. She took his hand in hers and shivered at how cold his hands where. Just like her mother.

"I'm sorry Squirt." Jo said biting her lip as the tears threatened to escape. She wasn't good with emotions any more. Her father squashing any emotion she had had out of her before Daryl and Merle came along. She glanced up at Rick to make sure he was still sleeping before she went on. "I let my guard down. I should been listening closer. I should been doing my job, Squirt. I should been able to save yaw."

Jo heard the old man walk quietly into the room. He had stopped at the door when he heard her talking. Jo hoped the man would just turn around and leave. She didn't want witnesses to her guilt. When the man didn't move, Jo got to her feet, her back still facing him. "You can check him. I'm going to go back outside."

The man was a bit surprised that she had known he was there, but said nothing as he walked up to the bed and stood next to her. When he had first seen the young girl trailing not to far behind Rick, he had thought she might have been Rick's other kid. Guessing her to be around the same age as Carl. That was until he saw the tattoo on the girls arm and chest. Rick then explained she was a member of their group and not a family member. He wondered why she had stayed out side on the steps, until he heard her confess to the young boy. She was blaming herself.

"I may need your help." The man said smiling with his eyes. Jo had never thought it was possible for some one's lips to stay motionless, but their smile to show through to their eyes until that moment. Jo wasn't sure what the old man's name was, but she almost seemed to sigh in relief. She felt like she could actually trust this man. Jo just nodded in response, got back onto the bed, and held Carl's hand.

"If ya tell any one in camp that I held ya hand, I'm going to deny it." Jo playfully whispered over to the boy. Hershel was a bit taken back at how calm the girl was. Almost as if this wasn't the first time she had sat by someone's side as they fought to live. "Daryl's gonna think I'm soft on ya. But ya already know this don't ya Squirt. It's why ya don't talk when he's around. If I didn't know any better, I'd say yer to smart for yer own good, kid."

"He's going to need another blood transfusion." Hershel said and noticed the girl tense, confirming his believes that she had gone through this with some one else. "I'm going to have to wake Rick. If you would like, Patricia made some extra food. You are more than welcome to make yourself a plate. My daughter Beth would be happy to show you to the kitchen."

Jo shook her head and held her arm out to him. "No need in waking Rick. He's going to need the sleep more than me. Ya can use mine. I can give to pretty much any one."

"You're O negative?" Hershel asked and the girl nodded. He took in the girl's nervous behavior and nodded. "Are you sure? You look a bit nervous."

Jo bit her bottom lip. "Just brining back some memories is all. Used to sit like this with my momma. They wouldn't let me give her blood. I was too young. Too little."

Hershel called in an older blonde woman and introduced her to Jo as Patricia. Jo nodded and quickly turned her head as Patricia readied her arm. She did her best not to jump when she felt the prick of the needle.

"You ok dear?" Patricia asked and Jo nodded.

"Not a fan of needles." Jo said then looked down at her tattoos when she noticed the woman glance at them. "Not a fan of medical needles. Tattoo needles don't bother me as much."

"What does the one on your arm read?" Patricia asked, she was obviously trying to keep Jo distracted.

"It's fer my momma." Jo said with a said smile. "It says No matter where you are, the sun is shining somewhere. She died when I was twelve."

What about this one?" Patricia asked pointing at the large feather above her right breast with writing under it.

"Follow the wind." Jo said with a smirk. "When Merle and Daryl left and I'd ask where they where going. Merle always told me they were following the wind. The one on my left shoulder is broken handcuffs and a rose growing around it. No writing, but its supposed ta mean I'm a survivor."

Patricia smiled at the girl and took the needle out of her arm. She went to put the gauze on her arm but Jo shook her head. Patricia just nodded and left the room. Jo sighed and playfully ruffled up his hair.

"Don't say I never gave ya anything, Squirt." Jo said then looked up when she felt eyes on her. She met Rick's eyes and he smirked over at her.

"You told that woman more about yourself, than you have ever told any one in the group." Rick said and Jo just shrugged.

"They never gave me a reason ta tell them." Jo replied. "Had a hate fer me the moment I walked in ta camp with my brothers. Didn't see a reason ta get chatty with them."

Rick sat up and took Carl's free hand in his. Jo could see the guilt in his eyes and she quickly looked away. There was no reason for him to have that look. The guilt should be hers.

"I shoulda saved him Rick." Jo said and the older man's head shot up to look at her in complete confusion. "I heard the twig snap. I shoulda stopped him from walking closer. I just figured it was another animal."

Rick placed a hand on Jo's shoulder and shook his head. "This wasn't your fault. It was an accident. Hunting accidents happen all the time. You didn't know Otis was in the woods. Is that why you where sitting out side all that time. You thought I was going to be blaming you?"

"Better than ya blaming yerself." Jo added truthfully. "Daryl sent me with ya, ta make sure ya all came back. I wasn't paying attention. I know the difference between an animal step and a human. It's about the only thing Daryl got through ta me. I'm almost better than him when it comes ta sounds. I heard that twig snap. I knew it was human and I ignored it."

Rick sighed heavily. "On the road. You where counting walkers weren't you? That's what you where trying to tell me. That Sophia was moving but the walkers where still there."

Jo looked back down at her hands. "And I was stuck under that damn van. Couldn't have gotten out even if I wanted ta."

Rick shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. He couldn't believe this young girl could carry such a guilty conscious. It wasn't her fault. "Explain the keyless locks at the CDC."

Rick smirked as Jo's cheeks started to turn a deep crimson. "Got a job at a local lock smith when I was fifteen. He taught me the trade. We did a lotta different kinda locks. Keyless became my specialty."

Rick smirked and got to his feet. "I'm going to get you some thing to eat. You gave a lot of blood. You're going to need something."

Rick got up and headed out of the room. Leaving Jo to sit on the bed next to his son. He smiled when he heard her talking to him as if we wasn't passed out. Just like she would have if they where driving down the road and he had teased her about something. And for some reason that gave him faith that his son was going to be ok. Rick never made it to the kitchen to get her food though. When he headed that way, Hershel asked to talk to him. He was a little taken back by the man's beliefs on what was going on out there. Thinking there was still a cure. But he hadn't been at the CDC. He hadn't seen what the group had seen. And that is when Maggie returned with Lori.

He lead Lori into the room where Jo was still in the middle of a one sided conversation with Carl. At the sound of their approach, Jo got to her feet and moved away from the bed. Lori quickly went to Carl's side and laid down next to him. Rick placed a hand on her hip and tried to be strong for his wife. And that's when he heard the crash behind him. Both he and Lori jumped to see Jo lying on the floor and a chair overturned next to her.

"Hershel!" Rick called out. He bent down over the girl and easily picked her up as Hershel entered the room.

"Did she eat after she gave blood?" Hershel asked and Rick mentally kicked himself. Hershel took his silence as a no and lead Rick out to the living room. "Place her on the couch. I'll have Beth look after her."

 **OOOOOOOOO**

Josephine woke up and looked around her surroundings and groaned when she realized where she was. Back to sleeping on the old torn up couch with more broken springs that good. She sat up and heard the familiar sound of smashing plates in the kitchen and Will Dixon let out a string of curse words.

"Josephine!" Will growled as he stumbled into the living room. "I thought I told ya ta finish them damn dishes before ya went to bed!"

Josephine quickly looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry. I was just really tired."

Will walked up to her, lifting his left hand in the air and letting it fall hard upon the young girls cheek. "Don't ya ever go against me again. Go clean up the damn mess ya made me make."

Josephine held her cheek as she raced past her dad and into the kitchen. She held back her tears, knowing she would get another slap if he saw her tearing up. He didn't like it when she showed any kind of emotion. She quickly got busy cleaning up the broken plates, as well as answering Will's every beck and call. She had only been there a few weeks and the man had already broken what little spirit the girl had left after loosing her mother.

Josephine heard the front door open and some one slam the door behind them.

"What the hell ya think ya doing here?" Will growled. "Thought I told ya to never come back here."

"Some one's gotta make sure yer still breathing." A gruff voice growled back at him. "Darylena wanted ta pick up some more of his things."

"Beer!" Will yelled out. His two sons looked at him as if the man had officially lost his mind, when a young girl rushed out of the kitchen with a beer in hand. She opened it and handed it Will. She turned to leave when the younger of the guests moved in her way.

"Whoa there girl." Daryl said calmly. He noticed the girl was keeping her head down and turned away from him, so he couldn't get a look at her face. He knew that body language well. He automatically turned on his father. "What the hell you doing with her here? Where the hell did ya get her?"

"That ain't none of your business." Will growled at him. He started to get to his feet when the other man pushed him back down into his chair. "Get yer hands off me Merle! The girl is mine."

"You sick bastard." Merle growled as he grabbed the man's collar.

Will just started to laugh. "I mean she's my daughter dumbass."

Daryl kneeled down to be more at eye level with the girl and reached out to move her face towards him. The girl quickly shrugged away and held up her hand, expecting a slap to the face. Daryl glared over his shoulder at his father. "Ya been smacking her around!"

"Haven't touched her." Will said sounding unconcerned for being called out. He lit a cigarette and pushed Merle's hands off of his collar. Merle seemed to still be in a bit of shock as he looked over at the little girl.

"The hell ya haven't!" Daryl growled causing the girl to back away from him.

"Get her out of here Daryl." Merle growled. Daryl looked up at his brother and swallowed hard. Merle stood there calmly, but Daryl knew better. He was only that calm right before he was about to loose complete control. Daryl reached out and grabbed the girl's arm and drug her out of the house, completely ignoring the fact the girl was screaming and trying to get her small arm free of his. He didn't let her go until they where out of the house and he was placing her in a truck sitting out side.

"Listen, what ever ya hear, don't leave this truck." Daryl said when he closed the door. "I gotta make sure Merle don't kill em."

"Who are you?" Josephine finally got out as Daryl started to walk away. He turned back and looked at her over his shoulder.

"We're yer brothers." Was all Daryl got out before Will Dixon was thrown out the front door and Merle wasn't far behind him. Daryl quickly grabbed a hold of his brother. Merle pushed him away and kicked the man on the ground one more time. Spitting blood at him from the one good punch Will had landed on his jaw. Merle and Daryl then returned to the truck.

"He ain't going ta touch ya again." Merle said as he got into the passenger seat. He looked the small girl over, noticing the bruise starting below her left eye. "Christ girl, why would ya come ta stay with that man?"

Josephine looked down at her hands. "Ain't got no other place to go. Child services dropped me off."

Daryl cussed under his breath as he drove away. He looked over at his brother with a sad look in his eyes. Merle groaned knowing exactly what that meant. They wouldn't be able to leave now. They both knew they couldn't keep the girl with them. They got into to much trouble, and Merle's habits weren't good for the girl to be around. But they weren't going to let the girl go through what they had.

"What's yer name little bit?" Merle asked as he looked over her face. She didn't look much like him or Daryl, but there was one thing he couldn't deny. She had Daryl's eyes. Their fathers eyes.

"Josephine Rose Pitman." Josephine replied quietly.

Daryl looked over at the young girl with sad eyes. "Jo, yer going ta be ok. We won't let the bastard touch ya again."

Jo looked down at her hands but said nothing. She wasn't sure if she believed them. But hey had saved her, and at that moment, that's all that mattered.

 **OOOOOOOOO**

Jo woke up with a start almost knocking heads with some one who had been leaning over her. She looked around frantically as her eyes tried to adjust to being awake. She left some one take a hold of her shoulders and she quickly flinched at the touch.

"It's me Josephine." The panicked voice of Glenn came to her. "You passed out after giving blood. You're still at the Greene farm."

Jo pressed her hands hard to her eyes, trying her hardest to forget the dream that she had just had. She hadn't dreamt of her father years. "Daryl?"

"He's still on the highway with the others. I came with T-Dog to get his arm taken care of." Glenn explained. "Shane just returned from the school with the respirator and surgical supplies. They are operating on Carl now."

"Squirt?" Jo said as she struggled to come back to reality. She laid back down feeling a bit dizzy again, when she heard the familiar heavy steps of Rick coming towards her. She opened her eyes and looked around at all the faces surrounding her. Glenn was sitting on the couch next to her while T-Dog and Rick stood above him. But there was a girl standing above her that she didn't recognize. The small doe eyes girl bit her lower lip and nervously wrapped both hands around a glass of orange juice. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a side ponytail and her big blue eye looked down at her in shock. When she realized Jo was looking at her she jumped into action and handed the glass over to her.

"This should make you feel a bit better." She said shyly. Jo didn't reach out for it, but kept staring at the girl. She seemed to get nervous under the young Dixon's gaze as she sifted on her feet.

"Take the glass Jo." Rick said sternly. Jo still didn't move so Glenn took it for her.

"Thank you Beth." Glenn replied and the girl quickly escaped up the stairs. Jo smirked to herself.

 _Beth_. Jo thought as she took the glass from Glenn so to hide the smile that had crept across her face.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.**

 **AN: So here is a bit of Jo and Beth! Let me know** **what you think of their bubbling friendship so far. I also added a bit of a playful Jo at the end. Thanks for reading at let me know what you think of it so far!**

Jo walked out onto the porch of the old farm house and looked up at the moon. She wasn't sure what time it was, but knew it was late. Every one had fallen asleep a long time ago. Leaving the house pretty much silent. Only a few snores hear and there. She sighed and waved up at the moon, wondering if her brothers had done the same that night. It was something Daryl had started the day he went back on the road with Merle after meeting her. He said he and Merle would wave at the moon and it would be sent back to her, so she had to wave back so they knew she was ok.

"Cant sleep either?" a soft voice asked from behind her. Jo was a bit unnerved that the girl was able to sneak up on her. She hadn't even heard her walk down the squeaky old stairs from her room upstairs. Jo turned slightly to see Beth standing nervously behind her. Beth took a deep breath as if mustering up some courage, then stepped up next to the older girl. She was a bit surprised to see that Jo was at lease five inches shorter than herself.

"I don't sleep much at night either." Beth said as she bit her lower lip. "What's your name?"

"Josephine." Jo said quietly. "Yer Beth, right?"

Beth smiled brightly at her and nodded. Her smile causing Jo's stomach to clinch tightly. There was something about her smile, that set Jo's senses into over drive. She could smell the light flowery shampoo Beth used, Lavender and Chamomile. The younger girl's breathing also seemed to quicken whenever she was around Jo.

"Are you hungry?" Beth asked as she looked shyly down at her hands. A twinge of pink graced her cheeks as she said her next words, as if the thought of saying them embarrassed her. "Maggie said you didn't eat much after you woke up. I can fix a mean PB and J."

Jo really wasn't that hungry. She didn't eat much on a normal day, but she want going to turn the girl down. "Yeah PB and J sounds pretty good right about now."

Beth beamed down at Jo and grabbed her hand. Leading her quietly back into the house and into the kitchen. She started to busy herself with making the sandwiches as Jo looked around the kitchen. She saw the fridge that was covered in photographs. Something that had never been allowed at her father's house. Her mother on the other hand, had filled the fridge door with the art work Jo had made.

Jo looked over her shoulder at Beth. The girl was humming quietly to herself as she spread the jelly on a slice of bread. Jo walked over and leaned on the counter next to her. Beth bit her lower lip as the blush started to rise to her cheeks once more.

"Creamy or chunky peanut butter?" Beth asked as she went to the cupboard behind her. She had hoped the girl hadn't noticed her blush.

"Creamy." Jo said then crinkled her nose. "Chunky makes me gag. My brother Merle put bugs in my peanut butter sandwich once. Took me a long time to be able to even eat creamy."

"That's horrible." Beth said as she tried to hide a giggle.

Jo smirked. "That's just Merle's way of showing affection."

Beth raised and eyebrow at the girl in complete confusion. "By being mean?"

Jo shook her head. "By pranking and teasing. My brothers didn't have the best upbringing. They are a bit rough around the edges. Kinda like me but ten times worse."

Beth could feel her cheeks heat even more. "I don't think you are that bad."

She handed Jo her sandwich and took a bite of her own before she had the chance of saying something else that would embarrass her. Jo watched her for a few seconds before she took a bite of her sandwich.

"You are right. This is one mean PB and J." Jo said with a smirk. "You have a gift there B."

"B?" Beth said with a small giggle. Jo quickly ducked her head in embarrassment and took another bite of her sandwich. "I like it. Every one had always called me Beth or Bethy."

Jo smiled up at her and the two girls finished the rest of their sandwiches in silence. Beth cleaned the few dishes she had dirtied then turned to take Jo in. it wasn't hard to see that the girl hadn't changed her clothes in a while. Probably having trouble finding things to fit her.

"Come on." Beth said taking the girls hand once more and led her up the stairs to her room. She sat the girl on her bed then quietly shut the door so she could turn on the light. The brightness blinded Jo and she quickly covered her eyes with her hands. "Oh sorry. I should have warned you."

Jo could hear the girl rummaging through her dresser. She then moved over to what Jo could only imagine being a closet. When Jo's eyes finally adjusted to the light, she saw that Beth had an arm full of clothes. She had a huge smile on her face as she plucked an item out of her closet and placed it onto the growing pile in her arms. She then brought the items to the bed and dropped them down next to Jo.

"Daddy has been bugging me for years to clean out my closet." Beth said with a bright smile still plastered on her face. "Now is a better reason than any. I'm sure its been hard to find something to wear with this epidemic going on."

"Epidemic?" Jo said with a slight laugh. "I never heard it described as that."

"What do you all call it?" Beth asked as she sat down next to the girl.

"Apocalypse. End of the world. Hell." Jo replied as she looked down at the clothes sitting next to her. "What ever it is. It's winning."

Beth looked down at her hands and bit her lower lip. She knew what she believed, but the girl obviously had a different experience of the world. She wasn't sure why, but this new guest intrigued her. It might have been for the fact that she was the first person around her age that she had met. Other than her boyfriend Jimmy, she hadn't known of any one else her age who had survived.

"You can try some things on if you would like." Beth said, trying to change the subject. "Daddy wants to have a funeral for Otis tomorrow. There is a few nicer out fits for that kind of occasion."

"Um…Thanks." Jo said a bit confused on how to handle this younger girl. Her bubbly personality was a bit unnerving. She was the kind of girl Jo would have found annoying before all this happened. Know she was welcoming it. It was good to see some one able to still be happy during all of this. She grabbed a plain blue shirt and kaki shorts then headed for the bathroom attached to the bedroom. She changed quickly and headed back out to see Beth waiting for her. She clapped her hands in approval then handed her another outfit. Jo couldn't help but smile and laugh at the girl excitement. For one night she was going to allow herself to be a teenager. Something she had never really had the chance of being before. The last thing that Beth handed to her, after many outfit changes, was a beautiful denim sundress with small white buttons going all the way up the dress.

"I ain't much of a dress kinda girl." Jo admitted, but Beth wasn't having it.

"Oh fuwy." Beth said as she turned Jo around and lightly pushed her toward the bathroom. "Every girl is a dress kinda girl. It just takes a good dress to bring it out in her. And my little Joey, this here is a good dress."

Jo smirked at the new nickname and allowed Beth to push her the rest of the way into the bathroom. She let out a defeated sigh, that wasn't one bit convincing and started to change. When she came back into the room, Beth was sitting on the bed. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the older girl and a slight blush crept over her checks once more. She got to her feet and motioned for Jo to twirl. Jo did a surprisingly graceful turn, giggling the whole time she did.

"Stunning!" Beth demanded as she did a small happy dance. "You have to wear this tomorrow!"

"I'd be a laughing stalk." Jo said as she nervously bit her lower lip. She also knew Daryl or Merle would have a full blown melt down if they saw her in it.

"Nonsense!" Beth demanded. "I will have words with any one fool enough to laugh at you."

Jo smiled up at the girl. "Thank ya B. I owe ya a lot after this."

"You owe me nothing." Beth said placing her hand on the girls shoulders. She let out a small yawn and shook her head. "Think I'm tuckered out after all this excitement."

"I'll let ya get ta bed." Jo said as she started to pick up her new clothes. Beth took them from her and placed them on top of her dresser.

"You can stay here if you would like." Beth offered. "We can call it a sleep over."

"Yer Daddy would skin my hide if I stayed up here with ya." Jo said shaking her head at Beth. "I ain't the kinda person a girl like yerself should be friends with."

"I can be the judge of that Joey." Beth said with one of her bright smiles.

"How bout I'm gay." Jo said as she looked down at her feet. "I don't want ya thinking I'd try something."

Beth was a bit shocked by the girl's confession. "Are you planning on trying something?'

Jo shook her head and Beth's smile grew. "Then we'll get along just fine. Come on Joey! I get so lonely. I could really use a friend. Some one not family, or thinking he'll get in my pants. It will be a breath of fresh air."

"What if I was wanting to get into yer pants?" Jo said a bit sarcastically. "I just told ya I'm gay. I could be planning on stealing ya away from that boyfriend of yers."

Beth giggled and patted the bed next to her as she laid down. "Just get over here and lay down. We can argue about it till we fall asleep. If you fall asleep first, you have to wear that dress tomorrow too."

Jo bit her lower lip then climbed into the bed next to Beth. "B, yer going ta be trouble."

Jo didn't get to hear Beth's response, because the moment she laid her head down, she was fast asleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next day, Jo woke up to find the bed empty except for a note on Beth's pillow with two simple words: I won.

Jo groaned when she realized what that meant. She was going to have to wear the denim dress for the rest of the day. She got to her feet, readjusted the dress, and took a deep breath. She might as well get it over with and just walk down to the kitchen. She could hear every one else already moving around the house down stairs. She started to walk down the stairs when she could finally make out the words being said.

"Where is Josephine?" Lori asked when she looked around the room.

"She was gone when I woke up." T-Dog replied, his voice a bit muffled and Jo expected he was talking with his mouthful. "Probably out scouting or something."

"Oh she's up in my room." Beth said in that bubbly voice of hers. The room fell silent. Before some one cleared their throat.

"Jo…. Is in your room…" Rick was obviously voicing the surprise of the rest of the group. "I hope she was nice to you. Her and her brother's can be a bit rough around the edges."

Beth giggled. "Really? She seemed a bit shy at first, but we actually had a lot of fun last night. I went through my closet and got her some clothes. We then had a bit of a runway show."

"Well that's new." Glenn said in complete shock. "She's usually so serious. I forget she's eighteen."

Jo rolled her eyes and decided to make her presence known. She walked the rest of the way down the stairs and set an icy glare to the back of his head. "Can't let ya think I enjoy yer company. Ya might start thinking we're friends or something."

Every one jumped as Jo walked into the kitchen. The reaction's on every one's faces made her feel a bit uncomfortable. T-Dog closed his eyes, shook his head, and opened his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he was saying. Glenn dropped his fork. Lori just stared at her with wide eyes and Rick smirked down at her. "What? Ya all are starting to freak me out."

"You look stunning." Lori said when she was able to get over the initial shock. She brought the girl into a side hug, ignoring the fact that she had tensed at the touch.

"Never thought I'd say this to a Dixon," T-Dog said with a huge smile. "But you do look good Jo."

Glenn shook his head at her. "I've officially seen it all. The dead are walking around, and Josephine Dixon is wearing a dress. The world is officially going to end."

Jo reached over and punched him hard in the arm. Rick laughed and quickly got between Jo and Glenn. "Looks like Beth is good for you."

Jo's head shot up to see Rick give her a small wink before he handed her a plate of food. Jo groaned. Of course Rick would have picked up on something. The man was way too good at reading people.

"Just try not to get it dirty." Rick continued with a nudge to her arm. "I'm going to have you and Glenn help build Otis's memorial."

Jo rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She glanced over at Beth who gave her a teasing smile as she took a bite of her food. The girl had been right though. No one actually laughed at her. most of them complemented her. Something she was not used to.

As Jo helped collect rocks for Otis's memorial, Beth's family seemed to be very keen on keeping Jo away from her. When ever she moved towards the girl, one of her family members seemed to grab Beth's attention. After a while, Jo gave up on the attempts to talk to her. She understood quite clear. The girl's family didn't think Beth should be around her. Something Jo was very familiar with. She didn't have many friends before the world came to a screeching halt. Most people found out she was a Dixon, and they wanted nothing to do with her. The few people that stuck around, where usually out casts who had nothing else to lose.

"Your not going to complain if you break a nail are you?" Glenn asked in mock concern. When Jo glared back at him, Glenn smirked. "You can send that glare at me all you want. You're not so intimidating while wearing a dress."

"I can still kick yer ass in this dress." Jo replied as she rolled her eyes. She ignored the glare she received from Beth's family at her language. "If anything it's freed up my movements. More agile. Like a puma."

Glenn couldn't help but burst out into a fit of laughter. "A Dixon with a since of humor. Where have you been hiding that?"

"Same place I hide my gun." Jo said with a smirk. Glenn stopped laughing and looked the girl up and down. Jo's smirk turned into a wide smile. "Yes, I'm still armed. No I'm not going ta tell ya where I'm hiding it."

Jo's head shot up as her attention was brought to the road. She dropped the rock she had been holding and started to slowly walk towards the driveway. The other's gave her a confused look till they noticed the RV pop into view. Glenn smirked at the shocked looks on the farm group's faces.

"Its uncanny isn't it." Glenn said as he nodded towards Jo. "Her hearing is crazy accurate. I wouldn't be surprised if she hasn't already memorized all your footsteps."

Glenn didn't stay to hear a reply from them as he walked over to Jo and waited for the rest of their group to join them. Daryl lead the way as he pulled up in front of the house. His eyes taking in his little sister, and his eyes narrowed over at Glenn. Glenn gulped and took a decent sized step back from the girl.

As the others started to file out of their vehicles, Daryl took his time as he tried to cool himself down. He wasn't sure where Jo had gotten the dress from, but he wasn't liking it one bit. It was tight fitted and showed of the girls curves. Something he was not ok with.

"You look so pretty." Carol said as she gave Jo a warm motherly hug. To Daryl's surprise, the girl welcomed the hug and willingly returned it. Whatever had happened to her over night, he wasn't sure if he was happy about it or ticked.

"What the hell do ya think yer wearing?" Daryl growled when Jo rushed over to him. She looked down at the dress and a small blush crept on to her cheeks. "Where the hell did ya even get the damn thing?"

"B… I mean Beth." Jo said as she ran her hands down the dress. "The farmer's daughter. I needed clothes so she cleaned out her closet."

Daryl's eyes flickered over to the farm group and his eyes quickly found the blonde with big blue eyes. He was a bit surprise to find she was quietly watching the interaction between himself and Jo. She offered a warm smile. That he returned with a scowl. "Well ya got clothes in the RV. Give the girl her dress back."

"No." Jo said defiantly. She crossed her arms across her chest and glared daggers at her brother. Every one in their group had heard her tell Daryl no and now they where holding their breath, waiting for the elder Dixon to let his temper go. All eyes jumped between the two siblings, waiting for one of them to make the first move against the other.

"I ain't letting ya run around here in that. Ain't practical." Daryl growled.

"To bad." Jo growled back at him. "Yer just going ta have ta take it off my cold dead body. Then I'll just bite yer stupid ass."

Daryl got off his bike and towered over his sister. The farm group watching them with complete shock. The rest went on with their conversations like it was completely normal for the two of them to square off. But it was actually not normal for the two of them. Jo usually did whatever Daryl asked of her. It was usually Jo and Merle who butted heads.

"Don't push me Josephine." Daryl said as he glared down his sister. "I don't like ya walking around here with all these men we don't know. If one of them touched ya, I'll fucking kill them."

Jo rolled her eyes. "I'd fucking kill them first. Now get out of my face. Yer breath stinks."

Daryl glared her down for a couple more seconds before he stepped away from her. "Don't say I didn't warn ya."

"Warning heard, asshole." Jo said with a smile on her face, knowing she had just won and he couldn't stay mad at her. Daryl waked over to his bike and threw his pack at her. she easily caught it, but threw it back at him. Daryl turned on her when he felt it hit his back. "I ain't yer maid. Carry yer shit yerself. I got a job fer ya first anyways. Ya know, so I don't chip a nail or get this pretty dress dirty."

"Yer asking fer a death wish." Daryl said, but followed his sister over to the rock pile none the less. Maggie walked up behind Glenn, who was watching the two siblings with a smirk on his face.

"Are they always like that?" Maggie asked.

Glenn chuckled and shook his head. "Usually they don't talk. Just glare at each other till one gives in. Now Jo and Merle on the other hand, they could fight for hours. I'm pretty sure Jo even pulled a knife on him one night before Daryl finally told them to knock it off. You'll get used to them. As long as you give them space, they won't be a bother."

"Should I be worried about my sister?" Maggie asked as she watched Daryl put Jo in a head lock after she had dropped a large rock on his foot. She was punching him in the sides as hard as she could, but her brother didn't seem to notice that attack. "She seems to have taken a liking to the girl."

"Jo's harmless." Glenn said as if the question was offensive. "She tries to put on a tough act like her brothers, but she's sweet if you can get her to open up. I don't think they had an easy life before all this."

"Son of a!" Every one jumped when they heard Daryl let out a string of curse words. They turned to see Daryl hopping on one foot and grabbing onto the other. He reached out to grab Jo and she quickly backed away from him, sticking her tongue out at him. "One more time ya little… and I'm going ta hang ya in a tree by yer toes!"

"Gotta catch me first old man." Jo said as made a mad dash for the RV and locked herself inside.


End file.
